In the case of State v. Kohberger, which is pending in Latah County, Idaho, the prosecutors have stated that during the upcoming murder trial the defense will claim that an alternative individual may have transported a knife sheath containing Kohberger's DNA into the home of the four University of Idaho students who were killed in 2022. The implication is that Kohberger might not be the person who did the murders.
In the case of State v. Kohberger, the defendant stands accused of the murders of four students from the University of Idaho. The episode that has deeply taken hold of the national psyche. The academic community in particular has been thrown into a state of shock and profound grief over the horrifying case. On or about November 3, 2022, the four students—Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves—were found dead in their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho. The aftermath has left in its wake an ongoing sense of insecurity and a feeling of outrage among the population on or near the campus.
This assertion was articulated this week in a motion submitted to the court by Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson.
“Instead of challenging the conclusion that the DNA on the knife sheath belonged to Defendant, the defense’s expert witness disclosures reveal that the defense plans to argue the DNA on the knife sheath does not prove Defendant was ever at the crime scene and the knife sheath itself could have been planted by the real perpetrator,” Thompson announced.
A large part of the court paperwork explaining the strategies of both sides around expert witnesses has been sealed. This makes it impossible to analyze in any complete way what Thompson's representation of the defense's strategy is, or how it relates to the defense team's own filings.
When asked about his plea last year, the defendant, Kohberger, said nothing. This compelled the judge in the courtroom to enter a not guilty plea for him. Contrast this with a defendant who enters a not guilty plea voluntarily. Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty if they convict him.
The prosecution claims to have matched "touch DNA" recovered from a knife sheath found near one of the murder victims to DNA samples given by defendant Bryan Kohberger. They achieved this match using a relatively new method called investigative genetic genealogy (IGG). IGG was used in the past but is now a primary tool in cold-case work and has been used to identify several known serial killers. Kohberger's defense lawyer, Anne Taylor, tried to have the IGG evidence thrown out.
Despite this development, the prosecution has said it does not plan to use the IGG evidence during trial. Instead, the plan is to let the jury know that a "tip" led to identifying Kohberger as a suspect.
Last year, the defense team filed a document with the court asserting that Kohberger was, "out driving in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022; as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars." And the defense contended an expert in cellular tracking would back its assertions up with testimony about where Kohberger's mobile device was during this same critical timeframe. Nevertheless, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson expressed in his motion that the defense has not supplied enough specifics about where Kohberger was, and has not complied with court-mandated disclosure deadlines.
Kohberger's trial is scheduled to start on August 11 and is expected to last more than three months.
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