A woman is expected to testify about delivering an order to one of the slain University of Idaho students shortly before the 2022 quadruple homicide.
The Idaho Statesman shared that a 44-year-old DoorDash driver, whose name hasn’t been revealed, informed Pullman, Washington, police that she made a food delivery to the Moscow residence just moments before the tragic stabbings occurred. According to a probable cause affidavit, Xana Kernodle’s food order from a local Jack in the Box was delivered at 3:59 a.m., only minutes before the killings commenced, as stated by prosecutors.
The woman spoke with Pullman police the previous year following a routine traffic stop. During the interaction, she was recorded explaining that she had consumed a prescription painkiller and was feeling stressed because of her possible involvement in the murder case. She further disclosed that she might need to provide testimony in Bryan Kohberger’s trial.
“I’m the DoorDash driver. I saw Bryan…I parked right next to him,” she said, according to the Idaho Statesman.
The woman was eventually released and given a court date.
On Wednesday, Kohberger’s defense team attempted to postpone his trial once more, asserting that a “Dateline” episode about the case indicated that evidence was being shared with the public. The “Dateline” episode, which aired in May, reportedly depicted a vehicle driving repeatedly around the block where the off-campus Moscow residence was located during the early hours of November 13, 2022. The same vehicle was supposedly seen approaching the house and then quickly leaving 13 minutes later.
Kohberger’s trial is set to begin on August 11. His lawyers also claimed they need more time to prepare, hence the delay.
Kohberger is accused of killing University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves on November 13, 2022, at the women’s off-campus home. Kohberger’s attorneys have claimed Kohberger was not at the crime scene and was driving around alone the night the four students were fatally stabbed.
Mogen was found dead in bed next to Goncalves, and a knife sheath was reportedly discovered near their bodies. Downstairs, on the second floor, Kernodle was found slain next to Chapin, her boyfriend. Two surviving roommates discovered the bodies and called the cops.
Police claimed Kohberger visited the area 12 times before the slayings and that he turned off his phone on the night in question.
Prosecutors said Kohberger’s DNA was found on a knife sheath located near Mogen and Goncalves’ bodies. The murder weapon has not been found.
Defense attorneys claimed that prosecutors withheld evidence about unidentified DNA samples — including DNA on a glove outside the home which also remains unidentified.
Investigators tested DNA from a trash can outside Kohberger’s family home in Pennsylvania against DNA found on the sheath at the crime scene. Testing determined that “at least 99.9998% of the male population would be expected to be excluded from the possibility of being the suspect’s biological father.”
At the time of the slayings, Kohberger was working on his Ph.D. in criminology from Washington State University, which is located 10 miles from the crime scene. He was arrested in Pennsylvania in December 2022, after taking a cross-country road trip with his father from Washington to Pennsylvania for the holidays.
In September, Kohberger’s trial was moved from Latah County to Boise, in Ada County. The trial’s venue was changed after the state supreme court upheld a ruling identifying publicity and media attention concerns that could jeopardize Kohberger’s right to a fair trial. Further, the courts noted that the Latah County courthouse lacked space and local police did not have enough deputies to provide adequate security.
Latah County will cover financial costs related to the high-profile trial even though it will take place in Ada County.
[Feature Photo: August Frank/The Lewiston Tribune via AP, Pool]
