Idaho Lawyer Warns of Potential Contempt Charges for Bryan Kohberger Case Leaks

An attorney from Idaho has indicated that the judge in charge of the Bryan Kohberger quadruple homicide case might impose penalties on the prosecution or defense for contempt of court, following the release of new details to the media.

On May 9, a television episode focused on the Bryan Kohberger investigation was broadcast, revealing fresh search records, surveillance videos, and cellphone data. Kohberger stands accused of murdering Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20.

The “Dateline” episode disclosed surveillance footage from a nearby residence, capturing images of a vehicle similar to Kohberger’s appearing multiple times in the King Road vicinity prior to the tragic deaths of the four University of Idaho students.

The episode also claimed that FBI cellphone tower data showed that Kohberger’s phone pinged nearly a dozen times near a tower that provides coverage to the area within 100 feet of 1122 King Road, where the four University of Idaho students were killed. The phone pinged near the tower starting in July 2022 and continued through mid-August 2022.

Bryan Kohberger is escorted into a courtroom to appear at a hearing in Latah County District Court, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

“Violation of a court’s order is sanctionable,” Malek said. “It could be contempt of court, and contempt can be civil contempt or it could be criminal contempt. That is going to be completely separate from what happens ultimately in the trial, but things that you see with contempt, there could be a fine. There could be a public reprimand, for instance. So there’s a variety of things that the court could possibly do or not do if it’s found that someone violated that gag order.”

“Anyone who violated the order, no matter what side, would be held in contempt,” she added.

However, Malek said she doesn’t think the leak will result in the trial being delayed, as Kohberger’s defense team has requested.

Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

“I would be hard-pressed to think that the entire trial would stop as a result of this,” she said. “I think what is most likely, in my opinion, to happen is that the trial will move forward. This will be on a separate track as far as the investigation goes and figuring out who leaked the information, which side was it from. And then ultimately, who else, if anybody was involved or had knowledge of it, or like I said, it was just a rogue actor here that, you know, needs to be personally sanctioned in some way.”

As the trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 11, another surprise witness has emerged.

A woman claiming to be a DoorDash driver says she dropped off food for Xana Kernodle just minutes before Kohberger allegedly killed the college student. The purported driver came to light after a YouTube account, Officer Axon, obtained body camera video that featured the woman.

“I have to testify in a big murder case here… because I’m the DoorDash driver, so yeah,” she says in the video. 

The officer then asked what case she was going to testify in.

“The murder case with the college girls,” she said. “I’m the DoorDash driver. I saw Bryan there. I parked right next to him.”