‘Strong case for death penalty’ if suspect Bryan Kohberger is convicted for Idaho murders, says ex FBI agent
MOSCOW, IDAHO: Bryan Kohberger has a "strong case" for the death penalty based on the available evidence, according to ex-FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer. Kohberger is charged with killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022.
Kohberger, 28, a criminology student at Washington State University, is accused of the stabbing deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. The victims' bodies were found on November 13 at a rental home across the street from the University of Idaho campus. The grisly murders shook the rural Idaho community to its roots.
RELATED ARTICLES
Idaho Murders UPDATE: Has Bryan Kohhberger's father been charged with a crime?
MEAWW previously reported how Kohberger's lawyer was allowed to add another attorney to his defense team. The suspect's current lawyer, Anne Taylor, chief of the Kootenai County Public Defender’s Office, made the request which was approved by a Latah County judge. It's important to note that the defense counsel in death penalty cases in the state of Idaho is required to have at least two “death-qualified” attorneys under the state's administrative code.
'Two heads are better than one'
During an appearance on NewsNation Prime, Coffindafer was asked whether the prosecution will be pursuing the death penalty against Kohberger considering his defense was seeking backup. "I think the prosecution may, but whether they were or not, Bryan Kohberger's attorney Anne Taylor needs an assistant," the former FBI agent said. She added, "She's got to have a second chair since there is so much to go over -- all this evidence, information, someone who can take notes during the trial. You know, two heads are better than one."
Kohberger was arrested on December 30 at his parents' home in eastern Pennsylvania, more than 2,500 miles away from the town of Moscow. The probable cause affidavit, released on January 5, revealed some key details of the case, such as the phone data pointing out that Kohberger was in the area of the murders at least 12 times before the killings and that the suspect left behind a knife sheath at the crime scene with his DNA on it.
'It's a strong case'
Coffindafer was asked if the DNA evidence was the "smoking gun" in the case against Kohberger. "It is a smoking gun," she agreed. "If that knife sheath would not have been left behind, and would not have been found by law enforcement next to Maddie's body, this possibly could have remained unsolved. This was the aha moment when [BK] realized he had left it behind. We know he returned some hours later, maybe it was to see if he had accidentally dropped it when he entered his vehicle. But in any event, this was the piece that really broke the case," the expert added.
Coffindafer was also asked how strong would the case be for a death penalty based on all the available evidence. "Well, it's a strong case," she asserted. “If brutally going in with a knife and committing this type of carnage against four innocent college students doesn’t equal a death penalty going forward … I don’t know what does,” she added.