A shock declaration has been made by a judge this week in the case of Bryan Kohberger, the 30-year-old criminology PhD student on trial for the murder of four fellow University of Idaho residents in 2022.
What are the ‘Idaho murders’?
Kohberger is accused of entering an off-campus accommodation belonging to Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin in November of that year, wearing a mask.
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It was then that he reportedly stabbed the foursome to death with an ‘edged weapon’.
Police attending the scene discovered Madison and Kaylee’s bodies on the second floor of the student property, while Xana and her boyfriend Ethan – who didn’t live at the property – were found together on the third floor.
Another two roommates, Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen, were inside the house at the time, but were left unharmed.
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Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle were brutally murdered on 13 November 2022 (Instagram/@kayleegoncalves)
Responders later described it as the most ‘gruesome’ crime scene they’d ever seen.
Kohberger was charged with the heinous murders six weeks later, after which a not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf.
Brian Kohberger’s trial
Currently on trial, Kohberger is facing the death penalty on charges of four counts of first-degree murder, and one count of burglary.
The alleged killer’s lawyers recently argued that his autism should be something taken into account by prosecutors with regards to what punishment he’ll face, amid suggestions that he’ll be killed via a recently re-introduced firing squad.
His defence argued that his diagnosis proves worthy of having capital punishment struck from the case altogether, as they allege that prosecutors would use his autism against him.
Providing examples, Kohberger’s attorney Anne Taylor referenced the way he sits, how he talks for a long time, and other autism-related characteristics, claiming these should not should be used by prosecutors as reasons he should be put to death.
His team argued that his autism not be considered a factor when determining his punishment (Ted S. Warren-Pool/Getty Images)
His team also argued that several other pieces of evidence should be kept out of his trial – including DNA found at the scene, DNA found under the fingernails of one of the victims, a testimony given by one of the surviving roommates, and the panicked 911 call made by survivors.
Kohberger’s lawyers also requested that a number of phrases that have previously been used to describe the assailant during the trial be scrapped from any records of the trial – including ‘bushy eyebrows,’ ‘murderer,’ ‘sociopath’, and ‘psychopath’.
What has the judge ruled in the Idaho murders trial?
Following the defence team’s autism-related plea, Judge Steven Hippler ruled on Wednesday (9 Apr) during a marathon hearing that prosecutors weren’t to use his diagnosis as an ‘aggravating factor’ to argue for the firing squad.
Prosecutors responded, however, by claiming this was something they never intended to do, alleging to have ‘lot better evidence’ to argue that capital punishment in Kohberger’s case is fair.
Jeff Nye – the lead prosecutor – in turn argued, however, that the killer’s lawyers shouldn’t be able to use the diagnosis themselves in a bid to argue for leniency.
A judge provided an update on the case this week (Ted S. Warren-Pool/Getty Images)
“The state has no plan to use his autism as an aggravating factor,” he explained.
“We have a lot better aggravating arguments than that he has level-one autism.”
Featured Image Credit: Zach Wilkinson-Pool/Getty Image
The man accused of killing four Idaho college students has had a picture shown in court which allegedly shows him hours after the murders took place.
In November 2022, four victims, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, were brutally stabbed to death in their shared accommodation.
Initially, the two surviving roommates told detectives that they saw a masked male intruder the night of the killing in their home.
After which, they hid away in their rooms until the bodies of their roommates were found the next morning.
Bryan Kohberger is the alleged murder of the Idaho four (Ted S. Warren-Pool/Getty Images)
Madison and Kaylee were discovered on the third floor of the home, while Xana and Ethan were found together on the second floor.
Investigators who arrived at the scene described it as the most ‘gruesome’ crime scene they’d ever seen, as images of the home and items inside of the rooms circulated social media.
Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen were left unharmed, and weeks later, criminology PhD student Bryan Kohberger was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the killings.
He was then charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, to which he pleaded not guilty.
In court, an image will be shown which is an alleged selfie he took hours after the murders.
The image has been introduced in court documents, showing Kohberger dressed in a white shirt and with Bluetooth earbuds in, as he smiles at the camera and holds his thumbs up.
According to the court documents, the State intends to introduce the image of Kohberger, ‘taken from his phone on November 13, 2022, only hours after the homicides at 10:31 a.m.’.
This is because one of the roommates, known as D.M, saw a male in their home wearing a ski mask and could only see their eyes, nose and brows.
This selfie was allegedly taken hours after the murders (NBC News)
According to the documents, the State will also show Kohberger’s driver’s license so that they can compare it against the witness’ description of a ‘male; white; skinny/athletic build; a few inches taller than D.M. (5’ 10”); not someone she knew; with bushy eyebrows.’
Recently, the lawyers of Kohberger asked the judge in his capital murder case to ban the key witness, Dylan, from using the phrase ‘bushy eyebrows’ from the court room, as this is what she had previously used to describe the person she saw in the home that evening.
This is because Kohberger’s attorneys claim that the description is ‘unreliable’, stating as per ABC News: “The description provided by [the roommate] is unreliable and should be excluded.”
The defence attorneys also asked the judge to not use the words ‘murder’, ‘psychopath’ and ‘sociopath’ during the trial, adding: “To label Mr. Kohberger as a ‘murderer’, the alleged weapon consistent with an empty sheath as a ‘murder weapon’ or to assert that any of the four decedents was ‘murdered’ by Mr. Kohberger denies his right to a fair trial and the right to be presumed innocent.”
Kohberger will next appear in court in April, with his trial expected to begin in August where he may be facing the death penalty.
