Idaho murders: Suspect Bryan Kohberger will return to court a month earlier than expected
IDAHO, MOSCOW: In the ongoing murder trial of Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old criminology PhD student, has been accused of stabbing four undergrads while they slept on a dark Saturday morning in November. An Idaho judge has set a new hearing to review the court-ordered gag order — a month before the preliminary hearing.
The Pennsylvania native was scheduled to appear in the Latah County Courthouse for his preliminary hearing on June 26, when his defense would be able to contest the evidence against him. However, the court set a motion hearing for May 25 over the weekend, as per reports.
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According to Shanon Gray, the legal representative for Steve and Kristie Goncalves, "That is the date for the court to address my motion on the gag order," she told Fox News Digital on Monday. Later, the court attested to that information.
One of the victims killed in a home invasion ambush on November 13 at around 4 am was their 21-year-old daughter Kaylee Goncalves. Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall had earlier declared that she would postpone addressing the request about the gag order until after the Idaho Supreme Court had rendered a ruling on an appeal by a media coalition led by The Associated Press. Last week, the state's highest court dismissed that appeal after determining that it ought to have been filed in a lower court.
According to Fox News Digital, on Monday, May 1, Latah Prosecutor Bill Thompson's office responded, saying he was unable to comment on the hearing's content. A request for comment was not answered by Anne Taylor, the defense counsel representing Kohberger.
Charges against Kohberger
Four counts of first-degree murder and one count of criminal burglary have been brought against Kohberger. According to Moscow Police, he allegedly stalked an off-campus rental home before breaking in at around 4 am on November 13 to kill four students, who had returned late to their rental home as they had been out partying before the Thanksgiving holiday, as per reports.
About the victims and crime scene
Goncalves, his two housemates Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle's visiting boyfriend Ethan Chapin, also 20, were all identified as the victims by the authorities. According to the county coroner, each had many stab wounds executed with a large knife. Detectives also discovered a Ka-Bar sheath close to Mogen's body that they claim carried DNA that connected Kohberger to the crime scene. Police claimed they were able to connect Kohberger's white Hyundai Elantra to the crime site using phone records and security footage.
Kohberger was apprehended at his parent's home
On December 30, police apprehended him at his parent's home in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania after he had traveled across the country to get there with his father who accompanied him on the cross-country trip. They travelled in the suspect's car. When they searched the house, the police seized the car, DNA samples, and numerous other items, according to court documents. The home invasion bloodbath only left two roommates alive, as reported by DailyMail.