The trial against American man Bryan Kohberger, charged with killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, will be moved to a new location, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled.
District Judge Steve Hippler will take on the case in Ada County, the court said. Kohberger will be transferred “forthwith” to the custody of the Ada County Sheriff, the court ruled.
Ada County is the most populous in the state with about 525,000 residents, more than 10-times larger in population than Latah County, according to the US Census. Latah County, the original slated venue for the trial, is more than 400km north of Ada County.
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This latest development comes days after the previous judge, John Judge of Latah County, approved the defence’s motion to move Kohberger’s upcoming murder trial due to concerns that the local community in Moscow was prejudiced against him.
“Considering the undisputed evidence presented by the defence, the extreme nature of the news coverage in this case, and the smaller population in Latah County, the defence has met the rather low standard of demonstrating ‘reasonable likelihood’ that prejudicial news coverage will compromise a fair trial in Latah County,” the judge wrote in the order on Monday.
The judge also highlighted logistical issues with holding the trial in Latah County, noting there were not enough county sheriff deputies, court clerks or courthouse space to accommodate such a big trial.
That decision did not specify a new trial location. Instead, Judge referred the case to an administrative director of the courts, and the state Supreme Court then assigned the new venue and judge in Thursday’s ruling.
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The defence had asked that the trial be moved to Boise, the capital and largest city in Idaho. Two other recent high-profile Idaho cases – the murder trials of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell – were similarly moved to Boise.
The ruling on Thursday is part of the long and winding road since four University of Idaho students – Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen – were fatally stabbed in the overnight hours of November 13, 2022, at a home just off the school’s main campus in Moscow.
Kohberger, a Washington State University graduate student in criminology, was arrested in the killings on December 30, 2022, in his home state of Pennsylvania.
Investigators connected him to a white vehicle seen near the killings, DNA recovered from a tan leather knife sheath found in the home and his mobile phone location data, according to court documents.
A not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf last year, and his lawyers have indicated he intends to present an alibi as part of his defence. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.
The progression of the case has been slowed by a series of pre-trial motions and hearings related to the death penalty, a gag order, the use of investigative genetic genealogy and Kohberger’s proposed alibi. Several of the issues have still not been resolved.
The trial is expected to begin in June next year and last about three months.
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