Idaho college killings: Prosecutors ask for trial to be set for summer 2024
Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on December 22, 2023
(MOSCOW, Idaho) — Prosecutors leading the case against Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four Idaho college students last fall, are asking for his trial to be scheduled for the summer of 2024, and that the timeframe of the trial steers clear of the academic calendar for all area high schools and universities.
In a new filing Thursday, prosecutors note Moscow High School’s close proximity to the courthouse — especially in light of the expected media presence and other increase in activity whenever the capital murder trial does kick off — and want to preserve public safety and convenience as much as possible.
Prosecutors also said Kohberger’s team has already had enough opportunity to offer an alibi, and asked that the judge consider the matter addressed and closed.
They also asked that deadlines be set for both parties to complete discovery, pretrial motions and to disclose who they’re planning to call for expert witnesses, as well as for jury questionnaire proposals, jury instructions, and the like.
The trial was originally set to begin on Oct. 2 and was indefinitely delayed after Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial.
In their new filing Thursday, prosecutors suggested that the judge now put a status conference on the books to schedule everything anew.
No firm date for the trial has yet been set. The University of Idaho’s spring semester ends on May 10, 2024. Moscow High School’s classes end in the first full week of June.
Prosecutors allege that in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University, broke into an off-campus home and stabbed to death the University of Idaho students: Ethan Chapin, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21.
After a six-week hunt, police zeroed in on Kohberger as a suspect. He was arrested on Dec. 30, 2022, at his family’s home in Pennsylvania. He was indicted in May and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.
He declined to offer a plea at his arraignment, so the judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
Lawyers for Kohberger have previously said he was driving around alone on the night when the killings occurred, and wasn’t in the home.
If convicted, Kohberger could face the death penalty.
ABC News’ Julie Scott contributed to this report.
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