Prosecutors aim to keep Bryan Kohberger murder trial in Moscow in ‘interest of justice’

Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman

TED S. WARREN AP

MOSCOW (Idaho Statesman) — Prosecutors successful nan superior execution lawsuit against Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of sidesplitting 4 assemblage students successful Moscow, issued their general guidance to moving nan high-profile proceedings retired of Latah County, including to Boise.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson, who is starring nan prosecution of Kohberger and seeks nan decease penalty, based on successful a caller tribunal filing that nan defense was unconvincing successful its push for a venue alteration for nan scheduled June 2025 trial. The prosecution asked Judge John Judge of Idaho’s 2nd Judicial District successful Latah County to norm against nan defense’s venue alteration request.

“(The) suspect has grounded to meet his load of showing that alteration of venue successful this lawsuit is basal aliases convenient,” nan filing read. The tribunal should “decline to relocate itself, nan state, and scores of witnesses hundreds of miles only to look different assemblage excavation pinch likewise precocious media exposure.”

The filing was owed to nan tribunal Monday but wasn’t made nationalist until Tuesday afternoon. A proceeding for oral arguments complete a imaginable venue alteration is scheduled for Aug. 29 successful Latah County.

Kohberger, 29, is charged pinch 4 counts of first-degree execution and 1 count of felony burglary successful nan stabbing deaths of 4 University of Idaho students astatine an off-campus location successful November 2022. The victims were seniors Madison Mogan and Kaylee Goncalves, some 21, inferior Xana Kernodle and freshman Ethan Chapin, some 20.

At nan time, Kohberger was a postgraduate student astatine Washington State University successful adjacent Pullman, Washington. He was arrested astir 7 weeks aft nan homicides while visiting family successful eastbound Pennsylvania successful December 2022.

PROSECUTION: ‘INTEREST OF JUSTICE’ DICTATES TRIAL IN MOSCOW

The lawsuit has been intimately watched during nan 21 months since nan crime happened successful nan agrarian Idaho assemblage town. The shocking unit captured nan nation’s attraction and garnered apical billing successful newspapers, online and connected section web and cablegram tv news.

With nan amplified level of media coverage, Kohberger’s defense, led by lawyer Anne Taylor, based on that its customer cannot person a adjacent proceedings successful Moscow, wherever nan proceedings is presently planned. The defense attorneys hired a proceedings advisor to show really study information from imaginable jurors reveals why moving Kohberger’s proceedings to Ada County — nan state’s largest county, pinch much than 500,000 residents — would springiness him nan champion chance astatine an impartial assemblage pool.

But Thompson and charismatic Ingrid Batey, from nan Idaho Attorney General’s Office, countered that nan defense’s usage of nan study information is flawed successful its efforts to beryllium that seating a tin assemblage successful Latah County is not possible. And Judge’s opinionated gag bid has efficaciously prevented pretrial publicity of nan lawsuit from spoiling nan section assemblage pool, they argued.

Expanding nan number of Latah County residents who are asked to show up arsenic imaginable jurors would thief alleviate nan imaginable issue, nan filing read. Idaho rule would different dictate seating a assemblage from a adjacent region — not 1 connected nan different broadside of nan state, they wrote.

“Even if nan tribunal were to beryllium persuaded that a adjacent and impartial assemblage could not beryllium empaneled successful Latah County, nan tribunal could … tie upon a assemblage excavation from a neighboring county,” prosecutors argued.

At a proceeding successful January, Thompson indicated that shifting nan proceedings to Lewis County — a organization of astir 3,500 group and 2,200 progressive voters, nan Statesman antecedently reported — could beryllium a imaginable fresh if Judge felt a venue alteration was warranted. Nez Perce and Kootenai counties would make different alternatives, and beryllium little inconvenient, Thompson said successful Monday’s filing.

Moving nan proceedings astir 300 miles southbound to Boise, however, is not convenient, nan filing read. And nan defense’s petition doesn’t contemplate nan “interest of justice” for nan 4 victims’ families — of whom nan mostly of contiguous family members who whitethorn be nan proceedings unrecorded person to Moscow than Boise, prosecutors wrote.

“(The) defendant’s mobility should beryllium denied,” Thompson and Batey wrote.