Idaho prosecutors have formally objected to University of Idaho students murder suspect Bryan Kohberger’s motion to change venue and have his trial moved out of Latah County, where the slayings took place.
The filing, signed by Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson and Ingrid Batey, a special assistant attorney general for the state, was made public Tuesday evening.
“Defendant has filed a motion to change venue, requesting that the trial in this matter be moved from Latah County—where the offenses took place—to Ada County, some 300 miles away,” they wrote. “To support his motion, he conducted a survey of prospective jurors in Latah County, Ada County, Canyon County, and Bannock County.”
BRYAN KOHBERGER ASKS COURT FOR CHANGE OF VENUE AFTER DELAYS IN IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS TRIAL
The findings of that survey, they argued, have not justified a move.
“Far from demonstrating that a Latah County jury pool has been uniquely subjected to an ‘utterly corrupted’ environment, as Defendant argues in his brief, the data show that pervasive and wide-ranging coverage of this case throughout the entire State of Idaho has led to high case recognition among survey respondents across all four surveyed counties,” they continued.
Prosecutors also took issue with the defense survey of potential jurors, arguing it does not reflect “non-response bias” and that polled residents were not given an explanation for the survey.
“This Court must ask itself: would an individual who was asked for their opinion about an upcoming jury trial continue a survey if they had no opinions about any upcoming jury trials? And once the survey started, would a prudent, thoughtful, and conscientious person who is reluctant to pass judgment with limited information opine to a stranger whether they believe a criminally accused is guilty of murder,” prosecutors wrote.
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Kohberger’s lawyers have claimed that the suspected quadruple murderer cannot get a fair trial in Latah County due to “extensive, inflammatory pretrial publicity.”
Read the filing:
Why would the Court change venue to another county that has nearly the same media saturation as Latah County?
Their client is accused of sneaking into a house at 4 a.m. and ambushing four University of Idaho students, some of whom were sleeping.
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The massacre killed 21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, along with 20-year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. All four suffered multiple wounds from a large knife, according to authorities.
Kohberger, a 29-year-old Pennsylvania criminology Ph.D. student, was attending Washington State University in the neighboring town of Pullman, about 10 miles away across the state line.
Police arrested him at his parents’ house in the Pocono Mountains after he drove cross-country with his dad in the weeks following the murders.
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The University of Idaho is in Moscow, Idaho, the seat of Latah County.
Much of the case has been conducted behind closed doors, with numerous filings made under seal and a restrictive gag order.
Experts say the motion to have the trial moved is a common step in high-profile cases. Changes of venue are rare – but can happen.
The double murder trials of Idaho’s “cult mom” Lori Vallow and California’s Scott Peterson both moved out of the counties where the offenses took place.
The judge entered not guilty pleas on Kohberger’s behalf at his arraignment in May. He could face the death penalty if convicted. The trial is expected to begin next year and could take up to 15 weeks.
The University of Idaho announced last week that it would dedicate a new installation to the victims at a ceremony on Aug. 21.
The Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial was designed by classmates from the school’s College of Art and Architecture and is meant to honor all students who have died while enrolled at the university. It includes a special sculpture for the four November 2022 victims.
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