Judge: Kohberger's trial still October 2, 'actual' alibi due September 8
MOSCOW, Idaho (CBS2) — Brian Kohberger was back in a courtroom on Friday and attempting to cast doubt in key DNA evidence and pause the start of his trial.
The strategy, from his defense attorneys, had been signaled in earlier court filings and made as an argument to delay the upcoming trial. Kohberger is accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in November 2022.
His lawyers called several people to the stand in the Moscow courtroom, and they discussed the profiles found in Pennsylvania and Idaho, which they say are linked to him through genetic genealogy. Reporters in the courtroom say a judge did not find reasonable evidence to delay the trial.
As of right now, Kohberger's trial is slated to begin Oct. 2, with jury selection starting the week before.
The next hearing was scheduled for Sept. 22 to go over any motions submitted by the Sept. 8 deadline and responses submitted by Sept. 15.
Sept. 8 was also the deadline set for Kohberger's lawyers to provide an 'actual' alibi, not just that he was driving alone when the murders happened, as it stands now.
The judge did not rule on whether prosecutors should hand all of their DNA evidence over to defense lawyers and set Sept. 1 as the deadline for discovery.
Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalvez, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were all stabbed to death in the shared home on King Road. Kohberger was not arrested until several weeks later, and detectives claim to have DNA, cellphone and surveillance evidence linking him to the murders.
Kohberger was a criminology doctoral student at Washington State University in Pullman when the murders took place and stayed in town through the end of the semester. Documents show his past education included undergraduate degrees in psychology and cloud-based forensics.
According to the affidavit, Kohberger also posted a survey on Reddit asking for participants for information to “understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision making when committing a crime.”
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