Idaho quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger is seeking a change of venue after claiming he cannot receive a fair trial in the community where four students were brutally slain.
The alleged killer’s public defender Anne Taylor asked Judge John Judge on Wednesday to schedule a hearing no earlier than the end of April to hear arguments on the potential move, the Idaho Statesman reported.
The attorney wrote: ‘A fair and impartial jury cannot be found in Latah County owing to the extensive, inflammatory pretrial publicity, allegations made about Mr. Kohberger to the public by media that will be inadmissible at his trial, the small size of the community, the salacious nature of the alleged crimes, and the severity of the charges Mr. Kohberger faces.’
But prosecutor Bill Thompson told the judge last week that he opposes a change of venue, stating that Latah County deserved the chance to seat a jury because the crime occurred there.
Moving the trial elsewhere would have no material effect on potential jurors´ familiarity with the case, he said, because it has already gained national and international notoriety.
Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger is seeking a change of venue, saying he cannot receive a fair trial in the community where the killings occurred
![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](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/01/19/74170015-13034607-The_former_criminology_PhD_student_is_accused_of_fatally_stabbin-a-11_1706814308556.jpg)
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
![Kohberger denies the killings but is yet to make any public statement himself. The Moscow house where the murders happened is pictured above before it was demolished](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/01/19/80744969-13034607-image-a-10_1706814247874.jpg)
Kohberger denies the killings but is yet to make any public statement himself. The Moscow house where the murders happened is pictured above before it was demolished
‘It´s not Moscow, it’s not Latah County – it’s everywhere,’ Thomson said. ‘So I don´t think that a change of venue is going to solve any of these problems.’
Kohberger, 29, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University, is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near the university campus in Moscow, Idaho, last year.
Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if he is convicted.
A trial date has not yet been set after Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial.
Prosecutors pushed for a trial date this summer. But Taylor, for Kohberger, told the judge that a trial date of Summer 2025 was realistic.
The judge decided to ‘percolate’ on when to set the date, apologizing to the families of victims for the delay but saying he wanted to ensure the trial only takes place ‘once’, with no room for retrials.
‘My heart goes out to the victims. I can’t even imagine the pain and the grief because they can’t really go forward with this hanging on their head, so I’m sorry,’ he said.
Kohberger was arrested in December 2022 after police matched a DNA sample left at the scene to his father.
They were alerted to him by his car – a white Hyundai Elantra, similar to one seen in the area on the night of the murders.
He denies the killings but is yet to make any public statement himself.
Last week Kohberger had his motion to dismiss the four murder charges dismissed. The application was rejected amid concerns over delays to the case.
His team previously filed a motion to dismiss the charges, 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.
![Kohberger (far right) appeared emotionless in court last week when his motion to dismiss the charges was denied](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/01/19/80521615-13034607-Bryan_Kohberger_far_right_appeared_emotionless_in_court_where_he-a-13_1706814314217.jpg)
Kohberger (far right) appeared emotionless in court last week when his motion to dismiss the charges was denied
![The house where four University of Idaho students were killed last year was demolished Thursday, despite protests from some of the victims' families](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/01/19/79410999-13034607-The_house_where_four_University_of_Idaho_students_were_killed_la-a-12_1706814311052.jpg)
The house where four University of Idaho students were killed last year was demolished Thursday, despite protests from some of the victims’ families
They are also demanding more information about 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, 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.
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