Bryan Kohberger’s attorney is trying to move the trial for the Idaho murder to a different county, but this could have negative results.
Kohberger’s lawyer, Anne Taylor, asked earlier this year to move the trial for the quadruple murder to another location because of concerns about finding a fair jury in Latah County. This legal action received criticism from Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson and Judge John Judge, leading to a gag order in the case.
“This was a complete surprise to me,” Judge told Taylor, according to Newsweek. “Because this is a significant issue, and I take it very, very seriously. I was surprised that this was happening without my knowledge.”
Kohberger is facing four charges of murder for the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. The victims were found stabbed to death in an off-campus rental in Moscow on November 13, 2022.
Thompson argued that since the crime happened in Latah County, relocating the trial would not change potential jurors’ knowledge of the case.
However, Taylor argued that “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.”
Then, in January, survey expert Brian Edelman, hired by Taylor, created survey questions for Latah County residents that could violate gag orders in the case, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
The prosecution said Kohberger’s defense team asked nine “reckless” and “outrageous” questions to 400 potential jurors in the county. A Latah County resident recorded one of the phone conversations and then notified the district attorney’s office to file a complaint.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek that issues may arise since some questions contained information that may never be presented at trial.
“The problem is the defense team asked potential jurors about the evidence against Kohberger. Some of that information may never come into evidence,” she said. “So now, potential jurors are hearing evidence outside the courtroom and evidence that may be inadmissible.”
The questions touched on topics such as the alleged discovery of a knife sheath at the crime scene, alleged multiple visits by Kohberger to the crime scene, claims of fear among Moscow residents following the murders, and allegations of Kohberger stalking his victims.
Thompson argued that the questions broke gag orders that prevent people from making extrajudicial statements about evidence to be presented at trial.
“That is reckless conduct and it’s outrageous,” Thompson said. “We are trying to fix a mess.”
Taylor argued that Edelman didn't know about the gag order when he created the survey. She explained that the questions only need a yes or no response and were taken directly from media reports.
She said that in high-profile cases, it is usual to conduct surveys.
Police arrested Kohberger at his family’s Pennsylvania home in December. Kohberger was a Ph.D. criminal justice student at Washington State University when the murders happened. Police believe Kohberger turned off his phone during the murders. They say he visited the area 12 times before the killings and left a knife sheath at the scene.
He said he is not guilty of the murders and is still in jail without bail. Check later for updates.
[Feature Photo: Bryan Kohberger listens to arguments during a hearing in Moscow, Idaho, on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. A judge has refused to dismiss a grand jury indictment against Kohberger, accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students. He is charged with four counts of murder in connection with the deaths at a rental house near the campus in Moscow, Idaho, last November. (Kai Eiselein/New York Post via AP, Pool)]