Judge rules on whether to delay Bryan Kohberger's Idaho murder trial

BOISE, Idaho — Bryan Kohberger is headed to trial this summer.

Fourth Judicial District Judge Steven Hippler rejected a request Thursday to delay the highly anticipated capital murder trial after the 30-year-old’s public defense team argued that the delay was “necessary to protect” Kohberger’s constitutional rights. The judge found no justified reason to postpone the long-awaited trial.

“Defendant argues a continuance is necessary for him to sufficiently review relevant discovery, conduct a full and complete investigation of mitigation evidence,” Hippler wrote in his 20-page order. “Absent from defendant’s materials, however, is any good cause for the continuance or legitimate showing of prejudice should the trial proceed as scheduled.”

Hippler hinted last week at a brief public hearing, where he heard arguments from both sides, that it was “likely” they’d be going to trial. He reaffirmed that Thursday by also issuing an amended scheduling order that pushed prior dates for jury selection and the trial back by just one week. Opening statements are now set for Aug. 18, rather than Aug. 11.

Also Thursday, Hippler in a separate decision denied efforts by Kohberger’s attorneys to present a defense that included as many as four possible alternate perpetrators after they conceded at a closed-door hearing last week that they cannot meet the required legal threshold at the start of trial. However, the judge left open the door for the defense to further develop evidence during witness testimony for “plausible leads,” he wrote.

“Collectively, defendant’s proffer with regard to these four individuals fails to give rise to even an inference that they committed the crimes or otherwise make it more or less likely that defendant was the perpetrator,” Hippler said in the seven-page ruling, which includes heavy redactions. “Therefore, it is irrelevant.”

Kohberger is accused of fatally stabbing four U of I undergraduates in November 2022 at an off-campus home in Moscow. At the time of the homicides, Kohberger lived about 10 miles west in Pullman, Washington, just over the Idaho state line, studying at Washington State University as a Ph.D. student of criminal justice and criminology.

The victims were seniors Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, both 21; junior Xana Kernodle, 20; and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20. The three women lived in the Moscow home with two female roommates who went physically unharmed in the attack early on a Sunday morning. Chapin was Kernodle’s boyfriend and stayed over for the night.

Kohberger faces four first-degree murder charges and a felony burglary charge. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if he is convicted by a jury.

Judge denies late defense ‘tactic to delay’ trial

Anne Taylor, Kohberger’s lead attorney, filed a motion last month that asked that the trial be pushed out after previously unreleased case details were disclosed in an episode of NBC’s “Dateline.” The leaks likely violated the court’s gag order. Taylor also argued in court that they weren’t prepared to go to trial as they didn’t have enough time to review all of the remaining evidence, including that received through discovery, which she called “vast.”

“This court has a duty — a responsibility — to make sure that Mr. Kohberger receives a fair trial,” she told Hippler, “and a continuance may be the way that the court can best protect Mr. Kohberger.”

Hippler held back little in writing that the defense had failed to meet its legal burden necessary to warrant delay of the trial. Kohberger’s attorneys also did not identify how much time they might need to be ready, he added.

“Defense counsel has robustly litigated this case, retaining approximately two dozen experts and a full mitigation team; engaging in extensive motion practice and disclosing witness and exhibits lists with nary a whisper that a continuance would be sought,” he said in his Thursday ruling. “These actions belie his counsel’s ongoing — and ultimately empty — discovery complaints. Without more, the court can only conclude that defense counsel is using the volume of discovery measured in terabytes as a tactic to delay the proceeding at the eleventh hour simply for the sake of delay rather than a legitimate threat of prejudice to defendant’s substantial rights.

“Perhaps even more problematic, and more telling, is the utter failure of defense counsel now, or at any time, to specify not only what needs to be reviewed but, importantly, when that review would be complete and defendant ready for trial.”

At last week’s hearing, prosecutor Josh Hurwit, former U.S. attorney for Idaho, told the court that a delay puts the state at the “whim of the media,” and argued that despite widespread publicity in a case, the Idaho Supreme Court has found that an impartial jury can be seated. The defense has had enough time to prepare and doesn’t need to learn everything about its client to present a fair case, Hurwit added.

“Every time there’s a breaking story, every time there’s a new book or a new documentary, are we going to continue the trial indefinitely?” Hurwit argued. “And that seems to be the danger in what the defense is asking for. We call it a perpetual continuance.”

Kohberger’s defense team has maintained his innocence since he was arrested in Pennsylvania in late December 2022 following a sprawling, seven-week homicide investigation. The hunt for a suspect in the quadruple homicide traversed multiple states and garnered federal involvement before it landed on Kohberger.

Closed initial jury proceedings are scheduled to begin July 28 and last until Aug. 1. The public jury selection process is set for Aug. 4, and the trial estimated to start on Aug. 18, “and continue until completed,” including sentencing if Kohberger is convicted. The court’s prior estimate indicated the trial could last into November.

_____