Bryan Kohberger returns to court for Idaho murders hearing with ‘surprise witness’: Live updates

Andrea Cavallier

Bryan Kohberger returned to court this week for a hearing where his defense team questioned a Moscow Police Department detective over the handling of phone records, part of their motion to compel the prosecution to turn over additional evidence in the case.

They’re seeking material including dashcam footage related to the search warrant at Mr Kohberger’s Pennsylvania home and lab testing results.

The 29-year-old criminology PhD student is currently awaiting trial for the murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, who were killed on November 13, 2022, at their off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho.

Police linked Mr Kohberger to the murders that rocked the town of Moscow through DNA evidence, cellphone data, an eyewitness account and his white Hyundai Elantra.

However, his attorneys have tried to argue that the DNA may have been planted and that the state has not handed all the evidence for the defense to review.

Earlier this year, his attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the murder charges against him, citing a biased grand jury, inadmissible evidence and prosecutorial misconduct. But Judge John Judge denied the motion.

A trial date has not been set.

Key Points

Goncalves family responds to Kohberger hearing

15:00 , Andrea Cavallier

The family of victim Kaylee Goncalves expressed their frustrations with the ongoing court delays in response to Bryan Kohberger’s hearing yesterday.

They wrote on the Goncalves Family Facebook page:

“It seems as though we are not making any progress to set a trial date. Is this what justice looks like in America? What is going on? This is OBSURD!  Please pray for us.”

Bryan Kohberger defense grills detective over newly revealed phone records in Idaho murders case

14:00 , Josh Marcus

Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger appeared in a Latah County courtroom as part of his defense team’s efforts to compel prosecutors to reveal more of the evidence they plan to use in his upcoming trial.

The 29-year-old criminology PhD student is awaiting trial for the stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, who were killed on November 13, 2022, at their off-campus house in Moscow.

Mr Kohberger’s defense team has claimed he was driving around looking at stars at the time of the murders and argue prosecutors have not handed all the evidence over for the defense to review, filing multiple motions to compel since Mr Kohberger’s arrest in late 2022.

As Mr Kohberger looked on in silence, his public defender Anne Taylor grilled Moscow Police Detective Lawrence Mowery about a series of records related to cell phone data police plan to use in the case.

Bryan Kohberger defense grills police over new phone records in Idaho murders case

ICYMI: Idaho supreme court denies Bryan Kohberger’s bid to toss indictment for Idaho murders

12:30 , Josh Marcus

Earlier this year, the Idaho Supreme Court denied a request by Bryan Kohberger, the man charged with the 2022 slayings of four University of Idaho students, for his grand jury indictment to be thrown out.

Mr Kohberger’s attorneys argued, based on their interpretation of Idaho law, that grand jurors were inaccurately told that the standard for an indictment is that there is “probable cause” of the defendant’s guilt, instead of the higher threshold of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The request was first made on 8 February for the Idaho Supreme Court to appeal Latah County District Court Judge John Judge’s decision not to toss Mr Kohberger’s grand jury indictment in the quadruple murder case.

Catch up on the details here.

Idaho supreme court denies Bryan Kohberger loses bid to toss indictment

Will the Kohberger trial put people put people in danger?

11:00 , Josh Marcus

Bryan Kohberger’s defence attorneys have warned that people’s lives may be in danger during his trial for the University of Idaho murders.

Mr Kohberger, a 29-year-old PhD criminal justice student, is accused of killing four students in their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. His trial date has not yet been set.

His attorney Anne Taylor filed a motion with the prosecution on 4 April requesting that discovery requests be placed under seal because “the documents contain facts or statements that might threaten or endanger the life or safety of individuals”.

The motion warns that the full release of discovery “would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy”.

Andrea Cavallier reports.

Bryan Kohberger’s attorneys warn lives may be in danger in Idaho murders trial

What’s Bryan Kohberger’s alibi claim?

09:30 , Josh Marcus

Bryan Kohberger, the man charged in the deaths of four University of Idaho students in late 2022, was out for a drive the night they were killed, his attorneys said in a court filing last month that lays out more details of the alibi defense he intends to use at his trial.

Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were stabbed to death at a rental home near the university campus in Moscow, Idaho, early on Nov. 13, 2022.

Kohberger, who was then a criminal justice student at Washington State University in nearby Pullman, Washington, has been charged with four counts of murder. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

More details below.

Man charged with 4 University of Idaho deaths was out for a drive that night, his attorneys say

ICYMI: Idaho murders victim’s family isn’t buying Bryan Kohberger’s alibi

07:59 , Josh Marcus

The family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four murdered University of Idaho students, have responded to suspect Bryan Kohberger’s alibi statement, saying that they now “feel even more confident in the prosecution of the Defendant”.

Mr Kohberger was on an early morning drive at the time of the killings in November 2022, according to a legal filing from his defence offered late on Wednesday.

“Mr. Kohberger was out driving in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022; as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars,” the document reads.

More details in our full story.

Idaho murders victim’s family isn’t buying Bryan Kohberger’s alibi

Key moments in the Bryan Kohberger case so far

06:30 , Josh Marcus

Bryan Kohberger scored a minor win last month in the University of Idaho murders when the judge ruled that his defence attorneys will be allowed to continue conducting phone surveys of potential jurors.

Mr Kohberger has been charged with the murders of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves after the four students were found stabbed to death in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022.

A judge previously entered a not guilty plea for him, paving the way for the case to head to trial where prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty if he’s convicted.

Graig Graziosi has the story.

Bryan Kohberger scores minor win in Idaho murders case

A roommate speaks out

05:00 , Josh Marcus

A former roommate of the slain University of Idaho students broke her silence this month, revealing the moment she realized her friends were dead and the final text she sent to them.

Ashlin Couch told KXLY that she moved into the doomed off-campus house on King Road in Moscow, Idaho, in 2020, with her friends Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen.

She moved out in May 2022 and Xana Kernodle took over the lease.

Six months later, in the early hours of 13 November 2022, Goncalves, 21, Mogen, 21, Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death inside the student home.

Andrea Cavallier has the story.

Everything we know about the Idaho murders

03:30 , Josh Marcus

The murder of four college students rocked the quiet town of Moscow, Idaho, and led to the arrest of prime suspect Bryan Kohberger.

Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin – all students at the University of Idaho – were ambushed in their rooms and stabbed to death with a military-style knife that has yet to be found. Police were called to the gruesome scene at the off-campus residence almost eight hours after the vicious attack.

For weeks, only scant details about the carnage were revealed as the community reeled from the tragedy and grappled with fears of a murderer on the loose. That changed with the December 2022 arrest of Washington State University student Mr Kohberger, whose apartment, office and family home were raided and searched for evidence.

Here are some of the key things you need to know about the case, compiled by Andrea Blanco, Rachel Sharp, and Sheila Flynn.

Everything we know about the Idaho murders

Bryan Kohberger defense grills detective over newly revealed phone records in Idaho murders case

02:05 , Josh Marcus

Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger appeared in a Latah County courtroom as part of his defense team’s efforts to compel prosecutors to reveal more of the evidence they plan to use in his upcoming trial.

The 29-year-old criminology PhD student is awaiting trial for the stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, who were killed on November 13, 2022, at their off-campus house in Moscow.

Mr Kohberger’s defense team has claimed he was driving around looking at stars at the time of the murders and argue prosecutors have not handed all the evidence over for the defense to review, filing multiple motions to compel since Mr Kohberger’s arrest in late 2022.

As Mr Kohberger looked on in silence, his public defender Anne Taylor grilled Moscow Police Detective Lawrence Mowery about a series of records related to cell phone data police plan to use in the case.

Bryan Kohberger defense grills police over new phone records in Idaho murders case

Defense asks about traffic cam footage

01:53 , Josh Marcus

The hearing also concerned police efforts to look for evidence on Idaho transit cameras and windy.com, a weather site that temporary displays shots from state transit feeds. The detective said that while police consulted these feeds as potential sources of evidence, they didn’t retain anything of value in the case.

Thursday’s hearing ended without a ruling on the motion to compel, and further proceedings are scheduled for 30 May, which will feature testimony from Leah Larkin and Bicka Barlow, two DNA experts called by the defense.

Did Idaho police delete a key piece of evidence?

Friday 24 May 2024 00:32 , Josh Marcus

Moscow Police Detective Lawrence Mowery faced tough questioning on Thursday about records suggesting he didn’t save a file as he was analyzing cell phone data related to Bryan Kohberger’s location during the 2022 murders.

The defense this could mean key pieces of evidence may have been deleted or made inaccessible, but the detective pushed back against this framing.

“I didn’t delete anything,” he said.

Rather, he said during his testimony, he briefly used a police system called CASTViz to make a data analysis of Mr Kohberger’s phone records to be presented to a grand jury in the case in 2023.

Even though he didn’t save his work on the analysis he eventually presented to the grand jury, he continued, all the underlying evidence records were still being retained, meaning the purported evidence agianst Mr Kohberger could be fed back into the program and re-analyzed at any time.

‘When did you learn about those documents?’: Kohberger defense grills detective

Thursday 23 May 2024 23:41 , Josh Marcus

Bryan Kohberger‘s defense team extensively questioned Moscow Police Detective Lawrence Mowery on Thursday as part of their effort to scrutinize cell phone evidence police believe ties the student to the location of the 2022 murders.

In one exchange, one of Mr Kohberger’s lawyers asked Detective Mowery about documentation related to the findings from two search warrants for the defendant’s cell phone information, one covering a 48-hour period and another for a longer sequence of time.

The detective revealed that he had come across the documentation about this information yesterday, as he prepared for today’s hearing.

The defense is hoping to make the case there’s additional evidence it should have access to, and paint prosecutors as being witholding of key information.

WATCH LIVE: Moscow officer testifies at Bryan Kohberger hearing

Thursday 23 May 2024 22:47 , Andrea Cavallier

Moscow Police Det. Lawrence Mowery is on the stand at Bryan Kohberger’s pre-trial hearing.

The defense is attempting to get the prosecution to turn over more evidence related to DNA and cell phone tower data that they believe supports their clients alibi.

Hearing set to begin shortly

Thursday 23 May 2024 22:20 , Andrea Cavallier

The hearing in Bryan Koberger’s case is set to begin shortly.

Kohberger’s defense will present witnesses to testify about the cell phone data they believe will corroborate with their client’s alibi.

Audio is expected to be available on Judge John Judge’s YouTube page.

It will begin at 2:30pm PT/ 5:30pm ET.

What to expect at Bryan Kohberger’s hearing today

Thursday 23 May 2024 21:45 , Andrea Cavallier

Kohberger’s defense is asking the state to hand over evidence they believe will support their client’s alibi that he was driving around and stargazing on the night of the murders.

The evidence reportedly includes dashcam footage, video and audio recordings of a white sedan at the crime scene, and lab testing results – information police used to arrest Kohberger seven weeks after the murders.

Timeline of the Idaho murders case

Thursday 23 May 2024 20:00 , Andrea Cavallier

On November 2022, four University of Idaho students were found stabbed to death at a rental house in Moscow, in a case that shocked the small college town and drew media attention from across the world.

For nearly seven weeks there appeared to be no suspect in the case. Then, on 30 December 2022, Bryan Kohberger – a PhD student in criminology at Washington State University (WSU) – was arrested and charged with their murders.

In August, Mr Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial, postponing the proceedings indefinitely.

Here’s a timeline of the case so far:

Timeline of the Idaho college murders

WATCH: Former roommate of murdered University of Idaho students reveals last text

Thursday 23 May 2024 19:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Who is Bryan Kohberger?

Thursday 23 May 2024 18:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Bryan Kohberger became a household name across America when police swooped on his parents’ home in December and arrested him for the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students.

The former PhD criminology student at Washington State University is accused of stabbing to death Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in an off-campus student rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November.

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

Who is Bryan Kohberger?

Everything we know about the Idaho murders

Thursday 23 May 2024 17:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin – all students at the University of Idaho – were ambushed in their rooms and stabbed to death with a military-style knife that has yet to be found. Police were called to the gruesome scene at the off-campus residence almost eight hours after the vicious attack.

For weeks, only scant details about the carnage were revealed as the community reeled from the tragedy and grappled with fears of a murderer on the loose.

That changed with the December 2022 arrest of Washington State University student Mr Kohberger, whose apartment, office and family home were raided and searched for evidence.

While more information has become public through the release of search warrants and arrest records in recent months, a gag order in the case remains in place and most aspects of the probe and its findings are still a mystery.

Here’s everything we know so far:

Everything we know about the Idaho murders

Ex-roommate of Idaho murders victims reveals last text

Thursday 23 May 2024 16:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Ashlin Couch, a former roommate of the slain University of Idaho students, revealed the moment she realized her friends were dead and the final text she sent to them.

She moved into the doomed off-campus house on King Road in Moscow, Idaho, in 2020, with her friends Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen. Six months after she moved out in 2022, her roommates were slaughtered.

“I remember, I think, getting a second alert or I had been driving home and I texted like our group of friends, and I just had said, ‘Has anyone heard from Maddie?’ And I remember, like my last text message to her was like, ‘Are you okay?’” she said.

“And I felt it like right then and there, I kind of just knew that something was wrong.”

Andrea Cavallier reports:

Ex-roommate of Idaho murders victims breaks silence to reveal last text to friends

Defense demands evidence in Idaho murders case

Thursday 23 May 2024 15:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Bryan Kohberger’s attorney Anne Taylor says state prosecutors are withholding evidence the defense team should be privy to, according to several motions that have been filed.

The decision came after Kohberger’s defense team requested the new evidence relating to the probable cause affidavit used in his arrest, according to The Idaho Statesman.

This evidence includes cell phone tower data, a video of a vehicle seen near the 1122 King Road home and information relating to a driving test.

“The state knows full well what they have and what they’re withholding from us,” Ms Taylor said at a hearing earlier this month. “We don’t know what they’re going to show, but we know they exist.”

Read more:

Bryan Kohberger returns to court today

Thursday 23 May 2024 14:46 , Andrea Cavallier

The 29-year-old criminology PhD student is back in court today for a hearing where his defense team is expected to call a witness on their motion to compel the prosecution to turn over some evidence in the case.

Kohberger is currently awaiting trial for the murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, who were killed on November 13, 2022, at their off-campus house in Moscow.

The hearing is set for 2:30pm PT/5:30pm ET.

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