'Is this legal?': Internet wonders how books on Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger are being sold
This article is based on sources and MEAWW cannot verify this information independently.
MOSCOW, IDAHO: Bryan Kohberger, 28, the sole suspect in the homicide case with four University of Idaho student victims, was arrested on December 30. He was captured at his parents' home in eastern Pennsylvania, more than 2,500 miles away from the town of Moscow. Since, then a lot of details have emerged linking Kohberger to the killings, including the testimony of one of the survivors, Dylan Mortensen, included in the probable cause affidavit, who 'saw' a man fitting Kohberger's description leave the house where the murders occured in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022.
As the case is yet to go to trial, netizens were left surprised when they saw that people have published books on the Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger. This prompted the users to wonder whether publishing and selling such books was even legal before the trial. The sensational case took over headlines after four University of Idaho students, Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were found stabbed to death in their off-campus rental home on King Road in Moscow, Idaho. Suspect Kohberger, a PhD student who studied criminology at Washington State University, was arrested seven weeks later. On January 12, Kohberger appeared in court and waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing.
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A Redditor posted a screenshot allegedly from Amazon and wrote, "Moscow murders already on Amazon. How? No trial yet how is this legal." The screenshot showcased a bunch of books written on suspect Kohberger, titled as "The Unfortunate Fate of Bryan Christopher Kohberger: A Tale of Misfortune", "Killer in Waiting: Bryan Kohberger", "Bryan Kohberger: Idaho College Murder Suspect" and "University of Idaho: The shocking story on the Murder case; The arrest of Bryan Kohberger."
A comment on the post pointed out that they were all self-published books, saying, "Self published books. Anybody can do this. They’re likely garbage and basically like one long reddit post lol." Another Reddit user compared these books to TV specials like "Dateline" and wrote, "TBH If someone does a non-fiction True-Crime story about that, there isn't really a difference to TV specials like Dateline, 48hours... or long articles about the case. They, too make money with telling the story."
Some Redditors believed that such books were legal but unethical. "How is it illegal? It’s just taking news stories or podcasts and putting it on paper, just a money grab," wrote a user. "It should be legal but it's also unethical and these authors deserve any criticism," added another.
Other users found "people profiting off these brutal murders" reprehensible. "So disgusting people profiting off these brutal murders in Moscow. He hasn’t even been tried or convicted. Shame on Amazon promoting these books," wrote a user. "It makes me sick to see how many people, including those on TV, are exploiting these murders for personal gain," added another. Another user agreed and wrote, "Its pretty savage, how so many individuals are trying to capitalize ($) on this case."
Another user wrote that Kohberger was "innocent until proven guilty." Their post read, "He's innocent until proven guilty. You can't just go around and call him a killer, like the second book.The others seem to be talking about suspect or arrest that should be ok in the United states. It wouldn't be in many other countries."
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.