Why Prosecutors Say Idaho Murders Suspect Bryan Kohberger’s Alibi Is Inadequate

Prosecutors say Bryan Kohberger's alibi lacks the "specificity required" by an Idaho law

Shortly after defense attorneys for Bryan Kohberger claimed he had an alibi for the night four University of Idaho students were murdered in November 2022, the prosecution has responded by calling the alibi legally inadequate.

Kohberger, 29, is accused of murdering Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, at an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho, around 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022. All four were close friends and students at the University of Idaho.

Kohberger was a Ph.D criminology student at Washington State University and lived in Pullman, Wash., roughly eight miles away from the scene of the crime, at the time of the slayings. He has pleaded not guilty.

According to an April 17 court filing reviewed by PEOPLE, Kohberger's public defender Anne C. Taylor claims Kohberger was driving outside of Moscow on the night of the murders and was not near the home where Goncalves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin were stabbed to death.

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

Related: Idaho Murders Suspect Bryan Kohberger's Startling Alibi: He Was Driving to 'See the Moon and Stars'

The filing also states: "He drove throughout the area south of Pullman, Washington, west of Moscow, Idaho including Wawawai Park."

In a response to the filing, which was reviewed by PEOPLE, the prosecution says the alibi lacks the "specificity required" by an Idaho law which states "that the defense 'shall state the specific place or places at which the defendant claims to have been at the time of the alleged offense and the names and addresses of the witnesses upon whom he intends to rely to establish such alibi.'"

The prosecution claims that nothing in the official alibi filing is new information aside from the mention of Wawawai Park.

"The defendant is offering nothing new to his initial 'alibi' that he was simply driving around during the morning hours of November 13, 2022," the prosecution's response reads.

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Related: How Strong Is Idaho Murders Suspect Bryan Kohberger's Alibi? Legal Expert Weighs In (Exclusive)

In response to the defense's claim that Kohberger's cell phone data could prove he was not located near the crime scene at 1122 King Road at the time of the murders, the prosecution says in the filing that "this information does not rise to the level of an alibi at the time of the homicides because the Defendant's cell phone stopped reporting to the cellular network before the homicides and continued to not report until after the homicides."

Later in the filing, the prosecution writes: "It has now been approximately 11 months since the State filed its 'Request for Discovery Disclosure; Alibi Demand' on May 23, 2023, and almost a year and a half since the homicides occurred. The defendant has been given more time than he is legally entitled in order to provide his alibi."

The prosecution ended their response by requesting that court deny Kohberger and his attorneys "any further opportunity to add to any purported claim of alibi."

Investigators have previously claimed they tied Kohberger to the brutal stabbing deaths by using DNA evidence found on a knife sheath left at the scene in the bed where Mogen and Goncalves were found deceased, according to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by PEOPLE.

Related: Chilling Details Revealed as Probable Cause Affidavit is Released in University of Idaho Murder Case

While investigating previous cellphone pings, authorities also learned that Kohberger's cell phone pinged in the area of the 1122 King Road home on at least twelve occasions prior to the killings, the affidavit alleges.

"All of these occasions, except for one, occurred in the late evening and early morning hours of their respective days," the affidavit reads.

If convicted, Kohberger faces the death penalty.

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