‘It is time’: Prosecutors rebuff Kohberger’s ask to delay Idaho murder trial

Prosecutors in the University of Idaho student homicides objected to delaying the summer murder trial for defendant Bryan Kohberger, arguing evidence leaks that likely violated the case’s gag order are negligible. 

“It is time to try this case. (The) defendant was arrested in late December of 2022 and was indicted in May of 2023,” lead prosecutor Bill Thompson wrote in a legal brief posted Tuesday. “While the publicity surrounding this trial is a challenge, defendant has not shown — and cannot show — that continuing this trial will make things any easier. It is just as likely that delay will make it harder to seat a jury.”

Kohberger’s defense attorneys asked last month to postpone the trial in Boise, citing a recent episode of NBC’s “Dateline” that aired in May and revealed previously unreleased details about the defendant and the investigation. They also wrote that they had insufficient time to review all outstanding investigation materials — an argument Ada County Judge Steven Hippler dismissed at a prior hearing. 

Thompson, who heads up the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office, acknowledged in the 22-page objection that the two-hour “Dateline” episode posed difficulties for both sides. But the defense team’s reliance on the leaked evidence to push back the trial was “misplaced,” he wrote.

The Idaho Supreme Court has long recognized that an impartial jury can be selected despite widespread publicity, Thompson argued. The looming trial isn’t the Ada County Courthouse’s first experience with a “highly publicized trial,” he said, pointing to the criminal case of Lori Vallow Daybell.

“The court’s carefully crafted jury selection process has every chance to produce an impartial jury,” Thompson wrote. “If an individual has been so impacted by the Dateline episode (or any other publicity) that they cannot be impartial, they will not be seated as a juror. 

“Indeed, this case is not the Ada County judiciary’s first experience with a highly publicized trial in recent years. Like the court in the Vallow Daybell trial, this court is well-equipped to select a jury, to handle ongoing media coverage, and to conduct a fair trial in the Ada County Courthouse.” 

Prosecutors are committed to complying with the gag order, Thompson added, and will do everything in their power to “prevent leaks” and assist in determining who provided the details to ”Dateline.” 

Hippler previously invited the defense to file for him to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the source of the leaks, but so far no such request appears to have been made. 

Kohberger, 30, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of four U of I students in November 2022 at an off-campus home in Moscow. The victims were seniors Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21; junior Xana Kernodle, 20; and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20. The three women were roommates who lived in the home, and Chapin stayed the night with Kernodle, his girlfriend.

Attorneys for Kohberger, a former Washington State University graduate student from Pennsylvania, have maintained his innocence over 2 ½ years of legal proceedings. If a jury finds their client guilty of murder, prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.

The much-anticipated trial in Boise is set to begin with jury selection at the end of July and is expected to last into November. That schedule includes sentencing if Kohberger is convicted. 

A hearing is scheduled for June 18 for oral arguments on a possible delay of the trial. A closed-door portion will follow for arguments over whether Kohberger’s attorneys can present to the jury a legal defense of an alternative perpetrator. In another filing published Tuesday, the prosecution objected to the defense’s argument to introduce evidence of another suspect. 

Prosecutors ask judge to deny ‘eleventh-hour motion’ 

Kohberger is entitled to a fair and thorough legal process, but Thompson asked Hippler to use his broad discretion to deny the defense’s “eleventh-hour motion.” 

The defendant hasn’t demonstrated that his rights will be violated if the case moves forward, Thompson wrote. Those rights must be balanced with the victims’ rights and overall need for justice, he argued. The legal resources given to Kohberger’s public defense team have been “more than adequate,” Thompson said, and that defense has had the opportunity to prepare and adequately address the raised issues. 

The court’s record also reflects that the defense was “working hard” and met the standards for a death penalty case, he wrote. Thompson pointed to the numerous experts retained by the defense, including five mental health professionals who conducted a “deep dive” into Kohberger’s life. 

This contradicts the defense attorneys’ argument that they need more time to conduct a full social history of their client’s life, he said. Hippler already addressed the defense’s concerns that it’s overwhelmed by the amount of evidence in the case during a hearing in April, Thompson wrote. The judge suggested the defense seek additional resources to help review evidence and prepare for trial if needed.

“There is no authority to support defendant’s desire for more time to conduct ‘a scorch-the-earth life history’ investigation,” Thompson wrote. “Courts recognize that all cases — including death penalty cases — are constrained by limited time and resources.” 

Victims’ parents upset over potential delay 

On top of the state’s argument that the defense’s motion to move back the trial is “unpersuasive,” Thompson said there’s another reason to deny its request: the victims. 

Under the state’s constitution and law, the victims’ two roommates who went physically unharmed during the attack, alongside the immediate family of the dead students, have the “right to a timely disposition of this case,” he wrote. 

Given Kohberger’s arrest occurred in December 2022, Thompson said, “the victims’ rights and their desire for justice weigh in favor proceeding to trial as scheduled.” 

“While the term ‘timely disposition’ is not defined,” Thompson wrote, “it must mean that, at some point, a trial court can decide that the administration of justice outweighs a defendant’s desire to continue preparing his defense.” 

The parents of Kaylee Goncalves vented frustration last month over a possible postponement in a post on their dedicated family Facebook page. “I pray with all my heart that the trial does not get delayed. My head is spinning that it’s even a possibility!” they wrote. 

Last week, Kohberger’s defense subpoenaed five witnesses in Pennsylvania to testify at his trial: Ann Parham, Brandon Andreola, Jesse Harris, Maggie Sanders and Ralph Vecchio. They all must appear for a hearing in eastern Pennsylvania on the matter at the end of the month.

Parham and Sanders have ties to the local public school district Kohberger attended and also later worked part-time as a security officer. Parham was a teacher and administrator before she retired in 2022, while Sanders continues to work as a school counselor. 

Brandon Andreola is Kohberger’s childhood friend, and Harris owned a gym where Kohberger kickboxed after school. It is unclear how Vecchio knows Kohberger. He did not respond to a request for comment from the Idaho Statesman.