Idaho murder suspect fights to delay trial for fear of ‘mob mentality’

Defense attorneys for Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students, will fight at a hearing today to move his murder trial elsewhere, arguing that a “mob mentality” has developed against him in Latah County.

Kohberger is charged with the murder of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, who were stabbed to death in an off-campus dormitory in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022.

Police said they were able to link Kohberger to the college town killings by finding DNA evidence in a knife sheath, cellphone data, an eyewitness account and his white Hyundai Elantra.

In a motion filed last week, Kohberger's lawyers questioned potential jurors in Latah County who said there could be violence in the area if he is found not guilty.

Potential jurors said there would “probably be a riot” and “they would burn down the courthouse.” Prosecutors accused Kohberger's team of using faulty polling data in their requests to move the trial, arguing that victims' families would be affected by a move.

Judge John Judge is scheduled to preside over the hearing this morning.

Kohberger is scheduled to go on trial in June 2025.

Important points

• What to expect from today’s hearing

• Where Bryan Kohberger's lawyers want the trial to take place

• Prosecutors oppose moving trial from Latah County

• Who is Bryan Kohberger?

• When will Bryan Kohberger’s trial take place?

Who are the victims?

13:23 , Rhian Lubin

Goncalves and Mogen, both 21, were in their final year at the University of Idaho and were expected to graduate this year.

At a vigil a few weeks after the murders, Goncalves' father recounted how the two “absolutely beautiful” young women met in sixth grade and became inseparable.

Kernodle and Chapin, both 20, were in their third year of college and began dating months before her death.

Six months after the stabbings, the families of the killed students received posthumous awards for their achievements.

You can read more about it below.

Everything we know about the Idaho murders

What time is Bryan Kohberger's hearing today?

12:47 , Rhian Lubin

Kohberger's hearing is scheduled to take place today in 9 o'clock local time (12 p.m. ET), court documents show.

Judge John Judge will preside over the hearing, at which the defense will present its motion to change the venue.

It was originally scheduled to take place in June but was postponed by two months.

Victim's family speaks out ahead of today's hearing

12:28 , Rhian Lubin

The family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four murdered University of Idaho students, has spoken out ahead of today's hearing.

Her family said she was “sick” with anticipation of the change in venue.

Prosecutors argued that the students' families would suffer an unjustified transfer of the case to another location.

Trial date set for summer 2025

11:55 , Rhian Lubin

The trial date against Kohberger was postponed several times.

The trial was originally scheduled for October 2023 but was postponed indefinitely when Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial.

At the end of December of the same year, prosecutors filed a motion to begin the sensational trial in the summer of 2024, but the motion was postponed again.

The trial was finally scheduled for June 2025.

Both the prosecution and the defense agreed that it made sense to schedule the trial during the summer vacation because of the Latah District Court's proximity to local schools.

The public prosecutor announced that if Kohberger is convicted, he will seek the death penalty.

Who is Bryan Kohberger?

11:36 , Rhian Lubin

Bryan Kohberger became a household name across America when police raided his parents' home in December 2022 and arrested him for the murders.

Kohberger was a doctoral student in criminology at Washington State University.

He is accused of stabbing Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin to death on November 13 in an off-campus student apartment building in Moscow, Idaho.

He has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder.

People from Kohberger's past paint a picture of a bullied loner who overcame his addiction. Fellow students from his time, just across the Idaho border in Washington, describe him as a criminology fanatic who “scared people.”

Since the 29-year-old now faces the death penalty in this case, The Independent asks: Who is Bryan Kohberger really?

Sheila Flynn reports.

Who is Bryan Kohberger?

The place where the murders took place is empty

11:17 , Rhian Lubin

The site where the murders took place was demolished in December last year.

On the eve of the hearing, NewsNation's Brian Entin went to the home where Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were killed.

Some of the victims' families opposed the demolition at the time and demanded that the house be preserved until after Kohberger's trial.

Prosecutors reject request to postpone trial

11:07 , Rhian Lubin

Prosecutors reject a request to move Kohberger's trial out of the district where he is accused of killing the four University of Idaho students in 2022.

They object to moving the trial to Ada County, home of Boise, more than 300 miles from Latah County, where the murders took place.

Prosecutors said the court should refuse to “move itself, the state and dozens of witnesses hundreds of miles just to face another jury with similar media exposure.”

Prosecutors added in the filing that Kohberger's team used faulty poll data in its requests to move the trial and that the families of the slain students' interest in justice would be compromised if the case were moved elsewhere.

What to expect from today’s hearing

10:59 , Rhian Lubin

Bryan Kohberger's lawyers will fight today to have his trial moved from Moscow in Latah County to the state capital of Boise or another major Idaho city.

They claim that a “mob mentality” developed against him in Latah County after questioning potential jurors and claim that he will not receive a fair trial.

In a motion filed last week, Kohberger's lawyers said their investigation found there could be violence in the area if he is found not guilty.

Potential jurors said there would “probably be a riot” and “they would burn down the courthouse.”

Andrea Cavallier has the details.

Kohberger's defense says the trial needs a new venue because of the “mob mentality” in the city

Welcome to the Independent's live blog

10:51 , Rhian Lubin

Follow us for live updates on Bryan Kohberger’s trial.