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- Bryan Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students
- Prosecutors are pushing for the death penalty if he is convicted
- Pretrial hearings over motions to dismiss his indictment were postponed
FILE – Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court, May 22, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. On Wednesday, Aug. 2, attorneys for Kohberger, accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death last year, said he was on a long drive by himself around the time of the slayings. (Zach Wilkinson/The Moscow-Pullman Daily News via AP, Pool, File)
() — Pretrial hearings scheduled Friday for Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students last November, were postponed due to an illness.
These hearings will now take place Oct. 26.
More information on the illness was not disclosed by the courts.
Kohberger is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, at their off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho.
Two hearings had initially been set for Friday: a closed morning hearing and open afternoon one, KIVI-TV reported.
Both hearings concerned the defense’s motions to dismiss the trial.
In July, Kohberger’s lawyers asked a judge to throw out the grand jury indictment, claiming the jury was given inaccurate information about the standard of proof required.
Kohberger’s defense says the grand jury should have been instructed that the standard of proof for the indictment is “beyond a reasonable doubt.” However, according to the defense, the grand jury had a much lower standard.
The next month, defense attorneys submitted another filing to the court citing four more legal challenges of the indictment, the Idaho Statesman reports. Procedural concerns Kohberger’s defense brought up in August include claims of grand jury bias, improper use of evidence and a lack of sufficient evidence to indict, the newspaper writes. Defense attorneys also alleged misconduct by the prosecution. Defense attorneys say prosecutors withheld evidence from the grand jury that would have disproven Kohberger’s guilt.
At a May court date, Kohberger did not verbalize a plea in court, so a judge entered a not guilty plea for him. His defense says he was out for a “long drive” alone the night of the killings.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Kohberger if he is convicted.
