Bryan Kohberger seeks a change of venue hearing in the student murders case in Idaho court.
Kohbeger's defense team has argued that there is a 'community mentality' surrounding his trial.
On Tuesday, Bryan Kohbeger, the Idaho murders suspect, will have a hearing in the Latah County, Idaho, courthouse to argue for a change in trial venue location.
The defense team of Kohberger is contending that a "groupthink" in Latah County, where he is accused of brutally murdering four University of Idaho students in their home in November 2022, will lead to an unfair jury selection and, consequently, an unfair trial for the 29-year-old defendant.
"The pressure to convict Bryan Kohberger is so intense that Latah County survey respondents said if he wasn't convicted, they would take extreme measures such as burning down the courthouse and killing him. The quotes from community members cited in court filings last week reveal their strong feelings of outrage and the likelihood of a riot if Kohberger is not found guilty."
The defense team of Kohberger is arguing that the extensive media coverage in Latah County, with 1,300 media stories about the University of Idaho murders, has influenced the public's perception of the case.
A former Ph.D. student at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, named Kohberger, is charged with four counts of murder and burglary after allegedly stabbing four young adults, aged 20 to 21, with a KA-BAR knife in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022.
In late December 2022, Kohberger was arrested at his family home in Pennsylvania. His trial is scheduled for no later than the summer of 2025, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty.
Latah County's media coverage is overwhelming, yet it fails to convey that no evidence has been presented, no facts are on record, and Bryan Kohberger is innocent. The defense team emphasized that only a jury can determine the facts and whether they prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
On Thursday, the defense presented experts to the jury to argue that the Latah County jury may be biased against Kohberger.
Todd Murphy, President of media analysis company Truescope North America, testified that more individuals in Latah County are exposed to news about Kohberger compared to other regions in the country. He also stated that the intensity of news coverage about Kohberger has not decreased, especially during significant updates or hearings.
He stated that this type of story will continue to be relevant even after the conclusion of this case.
This report was contributed to by Laura Prabucki, Michael Ruiz, and Christina Coulter of Planet Chronicle.
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