FILE - Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court, May 22, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. Prosecutors say they are seeking the death penalty against Kohberger, the man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death in November 2022. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson filed the notice of his intent to seek the death penalty in court on Monday, June 26.
Zach Wilkinson / The Moscow-Pullman Daily News via AP, Pool, File
Zach Wilkinson / The Moscow-Pullman Daily News via AP, Pool, File
FILE - Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court, May 22, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. Prosecutors say they are seeking the death penalty against Kohberger, the man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death in November 2022. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson filed the notice of his intent to seek the death penalty in court on Monday, June 26.
Aired; January 3rd, 2024.
The murders of four University of Idaho students in November, 2022 has become one of those infamous crimes that the nation follows closely. The circumstances of the slayings has probably contributed to the attention — four young, attractive people being stabbed to death in an apartment, located in a quiet college town is not a typical mass murder scene.
However, Pennsylvanians have a heightened interest in the case because 28-year-old Monroe County, Pennsylvania native, Bryan Kohberger is accused of the murders. Kohberger, who was a criminology doctoral student at Washington State University, just a few miles from where the crime was committed, has been behind bars for the past year in Idaho, awaiting court action.
The Idaho murders were back in the news last week when the apartment where the four were killed was demolished. The former owner of the house gave it to the University of Idaho, who decided to tear it down,
Julie Scott
The house in Moscow, Idaho where four young people were murdered, was demolished December 29.
Two of the victims’ families objected to destroying the structure, saying it could still provide evidence.
Northwest Public Broadcasting journalist Lauren Paterson
Appearing on The Spark Wednesday, Lauren Paterson, who has covered the case for Northwest Public Broadcasting at Washington State University, told us,”It’s important to note that the demolition was approved by both the prosecution and the defense. We’ve had investigators in and out of that property for months. The FBI was actually on scene October 31st and November 1st. Later in the fall, they were getting scans, photographs, everything they need to create both visual and audio exhibits for the trial. When I consulted with a criminal defense attorney from Washington State, she made the point to say a couple of interesting things. One was that it’s actually normal for crime scenes to be destroyed before a trial, especially if all the evidence has been extracted. And the other thing she said is, despite what people may think, it’s actually not that usual for juries to walk into a crime scene, especially if that crime scene has been altered significantly. And in this case, we know that it was right. We know that there were investigators in and out. The forensic lab was on scene. And many of the victims’ items that were all over the house were eventually removed and returned to the families. So even if the jurors walked through the scene, it would have been completely different than it was at the actual time of the crime.”
It’s been reported that the prosecution plans to utilize 3-D imagery to recreate the crime scene.
Paterson was asked what’s next in the case,”Brian Kohberger has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of felony burglary. There have been multiple hearings and motions filed since Kohberger has been in custody, both public and private. His defense team is working to get the indictment against him dismissed. A trial date still hasn’t been scheduled. The next hearing is scheduled for January 26. Coming up just a couple of weeks here. It’ll be at the later county courthouse in Moscow, Idaho. And Kohberger’s defense team is again requesting the judge to reconsider his ruling, denying motions to dismiss the indictment against him.” Defense attorneys routinely ask for the dismissal of charges.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Kohberger if he is convicted of the murders. Paterson said Idaho recently decided to not use lethal injection for executions but instead would carry out the death sentence by firing squad.
