The murder trial of Bryan Kohberger in connection with the student murders in Idaho is moved to Boise

CNN
—

The trial of Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, will be moved to the district surrounding the state capital of Boise, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

District Judge Steve Hippler will take over the case in Ada County, the court said. Kohberger will be transferred to the custody of the Ada County Sheriff “immediately,” the court ruled.

Ada County is the most populous county in the state, with a population of around 525,000. According to the U.S. Census, this makes the population more than ten times that of Latah County. Latah County, the original location for the trial, is more than 200 miles north of Ada County. Both counties are on Idaho's western border.

This latest development came days after the previous judge, Latah County Judge John Judge, granted the defense's request to delay Kohberger's upcoming murder trial over concerns that the local population in Moscow was biased against him.

“Given the undisputed evidence presented by the defense, the extreme nature of the reporting in this case, and the smaller population of Latah County, the defense has met the rather low standard of showing a 'reasonable probability' that biased reporting will jeopardize a fair trial in Latah County,” the judge wrote in the order Monday.

The judge also highlighted logistical issues associated with holding the trial in Latah County, noting that there are not enough sheriff's deputies, court clerks or courthouse space for a trial of this magnitude.

That ruling did not set a new trial venue. Instead, the judge referred the case to an administrative director of the courts, and the state Supreme Court then set the new trial venue and judge in its ruling Thursday.

The defense had asked for the trial to be moved to Boise, Idaho's capital and largest city. Two other recent high-profile cases in Idaho – the murder trials of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell – were also moved to Boise.

Thursday's verdict is part of a long and rocky road since four University of Idaho students – Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen – were stabbed to death on the night of November 13, 2022 in a house not far from the university's main campus in Moscow.

Kohberger, a criminology doctoral student at Washington State University, was arrested in his home state of Pennsylvania on Dec. 30, 2022, in connection with the murders. Investigators linked him to a white vehicle seen near the murders, DNA from a tan leather knife sheath found in the home and his cellphone location data, court documents show.

A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf last year, and his lawyers have indicated he will present an alibi in his defense. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.

The case's progress has been slowed by a series of motions and pretrial hearings related to the death penalty, a news gag order, the use of genetic genealogy and Kohberger's proposed alibi. Several of these issues remain unresolved.

The process is scheduled to begin in June 2025 and last approximately three months.

This story has been updated with additional information.