Shakeup hits Kohberger’s defense

The defense team for Moscow college student homicides suspect Bryan Kohberger is undergoing a shakeup. 

Jay Logsdon, North Idaho’s state public defender and co-counsel for the case’s defense, will be replaced for Kohberger’s capital murder trial, a Thursday court order said. Taking Logsdon’s spot is a Northern California attorney who specializes in DNA and previously testified as a paid consultant for the defense.

Bicka Barlow, formerly of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, joins the trio of lawyers defending Kohberger. Since 2013, she has run a private law office with a focus on cases that involve forensic DNA evidence, according to her website. 

No reason was listed for the attorney substitution in the case. Patrick Orr, spokesperson for the Idaho State Public Defender’s Office, where Logsdon is employed, declined to comment on the move to the Idaho Statesman, citing the standing gag order in the Kohberger case. 

Attorneys on both sides also aren’t allowed to speak about the case outside of court. 

Kohberger, 30, is accused of the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students in November 2022. He is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and a count of felony burglary. The case is scheduled for trial this summer, and the state intends to seek the death penalty for Kohberger if a jury finds him guilty of the murders.

— Idaho Statesman