MOSCOW, Idaho — A judge has agreed to move the trial of man charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students to a different city.
In an order dated Friday, Idaho Second District Judge John C. Judge said he was concerned about defendant Bryan Kohberger’s ability to receive a fair trial at the Latah County courthouse in Moscow, given extensive media coverage of the case as well as statements by public officials suggesting Kohberger’s guilt.
He also noted that the courthouse isn’t big enough to accommodate the case and that the county sheriff’s office doesn’t have enough deputies to handle security. He did not specify where the trial would be moved.
“It is undisputed that there has been significant media coverage in this case throughout the State and nationally,” Judge wrote. “While some of the coverage has been neutral reporting of the Court proceedings, much of the coverage has been sensationalized and prejudicial to Kohberger.”
Kohberger’s defense team sought the change of vendue, saying strong emotions in the close-knit community and constant news coverage will make it impossible to find an impartial jury in the small university town where the killings occurred. Prosecutors argued that any problems with potential bias could be resolved by simply calling a larger pool of potential jurors and questioning them carefully.
Kohberger, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University, which is across the state line in Pullman, faces four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
The four University of Idaho students were killed sometime in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, in a rental house near the campus.
Police arrested Kohberger six weeks later at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, where he was spending winter break.
The killings stunned students at both universities and left the small city of Moscow deeply shaken. The case also spurred a flurry of news coverage, much of which Kohberger’s defense team says was inflammatory and left the community strongly biased against their client.
Following the ruling being announced, a spokesperson for the Goncalves family released a statement which read, "The family is incredibly disappointed in the Judge’s ruling granting the change of venue. The only good thing about this decision is it will be Judge Judge’s last decision in this case. The family has always felt that Judge Judge favored the defense and it was a common theme that whatever the defense wanted or needed they got. The written decision is even more informative. If the Judge knew Latah County could not handle this trial for safety reasons, not enough court clerks, logistics and lacking space, why did we waste over a year in a county he knew was not going to handle the trial. The points he mentioned didn’t all of a sudden jump up and bite him in the rear. Another issue was the poor cross examination by the State of the Defense expert witnesses. A judge can only rely on the evidence presented and when you don’t properly cross examine expert witnesses or present any of your own, you are left relying on the opinions of the Defense. Then lets not forget the massive contradiction of having a University of Idaho employee as an expert witness (Aliza Cover) and at the same time allowing Scott Green the University of Idaho president to write a book claiming to be an integral part of your investigation. Finally, what was the point of the non dissemination order, private hearings, closed door tactics, allowing the Defendant to be dressed in suit for every televised hearing, etc…if not to keep the trial in Latah County. As victims’s families you are left to just watch like everyone else and really you have little rights or say in the process and at the same time you are the most vested in the outcome. We have always felt that a fair and impartial jury could be found in Latah County and still believe that is where the trial deserves to be held to help the community heal. Thank you again for all your support and prayers!"
The full ruling can be read below: