Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger may finally go on trial this summer, with prosecutors urging to set a date, saying they expect it to last six weeks.
In the latest court filing in the case that has captivated the nation’s attention, prosecutors on Thursday also requested that the trial take place outside the academic calendar of the area’s schools.
The filing notes that Moscow High School is directly adjacent to the courthouse and that media attention on the case has already ‘has strained available parking as well as safety and convenience for pedestrians, including students.’
Moreover, it points out that Kohberger’s legal team has had enough time to offer an alibi and has not, asking the judge to consider the matter closed and deadlines be set for both parties to conclude discovery and pre-trial motions.
‘The State submits the opportunity for the Defendant to disclose an alibi and notify the State of the same has passed and asks that the Court not reopen this issue,’ the filing reads.
Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger may finally go on trial this summer, as prosecutors have asked a judge to set a date, saying they expect it to last six weeks
The former criminology PhD student is accused of fatally stabbing Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Maddie Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin , 20, on November 13. Victims (L-R) Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee’s shoulders) Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle
Prosecutors also requested the trial be scheduled from 8.30am to 3pm, saying it’s ‘appropriate to afford jurors some amount of time to tend to their personal affairs.’
Kohberger’s trial was scheduled for October 2nd but was delayed after he waived his right to a speedy trial.
The prosecutors’ filing comes days after Judge John C. Judge denied Kohberger’s second attempt to have the capital murder case dismissed.
Kohberger’s attorneys filed a motion earlier this year asking the judge to dismiss the indictment, contending in part that the jury was biased, that jurors were given inadmissible evidence, and that they didn’t use the right legal standard when they decided to indict.
The defense also previously revealed they would be contesting the notion that Kohberger’s DNA was left at the scene on the knife sheath, and also argue DNA from three other unidentified men was also found at the Idaho crime scene.
They are also demanding more information on how the FBI used the DNA to create family trees that led them to Kohberger and his father, for an early-morning arrest in Pennsylvania almost a year ago to the day.
Kohberger was arrested some 2,300 miles from the crime scene in Pennsylvania. He was attending college in nearby Washington State
It’s been over one year since college students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were brutally murdered in their off-campus home.
Kohberger, a former PhD criminology student at nearby Washington State University, was arrested during a raid on his parents’ home in Poconos Mountains, Pennsylvania, on December 30.
Detectives relied on genetic genealogy to build their case against him, using genetic genealogy to create a a DNA profile from the DNA left on a knife sheath at the scene.
The FBI tracked down Kohberger by tracing his distant relatives through genetic genealogy databases – and then secretly collected a sample of his father’s DNA to confirm his identity.
Police say they also matched Kohberger’s DNA to the knife sheath after his arrest.
Investigators also pieced together cellphone data and surveillance video that they say links Kohberger to the slayings.
Investigators allegedly matched the DNA on a Ka-Bar knife sheath to that of Kohberger. Pictured is a similar Ka-Bar seven inch hunting knife
It comes as relatives protest the approaching demolition of the house where he allegedly committed the murders
Last week Kohberger’s legal team was given access to the off-campus home where the deaths occurred so the lawyers can gather photos, measurements and other documentation before the house is demolished on December 28.
The rental was gifted by its owner to the college in the aftermath of the killings and its president Scott Green has insisted on the need to tear it down, branding it a ‘grim reminder of the heinous act that took place there’.
‘While we appreciate the emotional connection some family members of the victims may have to this house, it is time for its removal and to allow the collective healing of our community to continue,’ he said.
Judge Judge entered a not-guilty plea on Kohberger’s behalf earlier this year, and Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson has said he intends to seek the death penalty.