Judge rules on Kohberger's motion to change venue in student murder trial.
No trial will be held in Latah County, where the University of Idaho student murders occurred.
A judge in Idaho has granted the request of Bryan Kohberger, a suspected quadruple murderer, to have his trial moved from Latah County, where he is accused of killing four college students in an early morning home invasion attack.
The trial of John Judge was moved to an unspecified new location on Monday after his order was unsealed, and it was found that extensive media coverage of the case could influence the local jury in Moscow, where the attack occurred.
A larger courthouse in Ada County will accommodate more people and journalists, who are expected to be present.
The trial of 29-year-old Kohberger, who has been held in jail in Moscow since his arrest in Pennsylvania, was sought to be held at the courthouse in Moscow.
The lawyers for Kohberger contended that the quadruple murder suspect is unable to receive a fair trial in Latah County because of "extensive, inflammatory media coverage."
Judge made his decision based on all factors, including legal and logistical considerations, expert testimony, and the opinions of lawyers on both sides.
The judge ordered a transfer of venue without specifying the new location and referred the case to the administrative director of the courts for assignment by the Supreme Court to a court of proper venue in another judicial district and assignment of a specific judge to preside in the criminal proceeding.
On that date, Kohberger was accused of entering an off-campus rental home at 4 a.m. and fatally stabbing Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, all of whom were 20 or 21 years old.
Read the judge's order
Last year, at his arraignment, Kohberger pleaded not guilty to four murder charges and a felony burglary.
At Washington State University, Kohberger was a Ph.D. student in criminology, located only 10 miles away from the state line where the murders occurred.
In the weeks after the slayings, he drove home cross-country with his dad and was arrested by police at his parents' place in the Pocono Mountains.
If convicted, Kohberger could face the death penalty. A memorial garden on campus, designed by fellow students, will honor the victims.
us
You might also like
- Governor says Kentucky judge was shot and killed in his chambers.
- On a hot day, Texas law enforcement discovered 16 undocumented individuals concealed within a trailer's "false wall," prompting the arrest of the driver.
- The Kentucky couple who discovered the remains of the alleged interstate shooter claims they became 'bounty hunters'.
- A hiker in Yellowstone was airlifted to the hospital with severe burns after straying from the designated trail near Old Faithful.
- Two Massachusetts corrections officers were stabbed by inmates, prompting the union to claim that they are effectively running the asylum.