suspected killer Bryan Kohberger arrives in Idaho court
Suspected murderer Bryan Kohberger arrived in court on Thursday with his public defender, Anne Taylor, for a scheduled status hearing.
Bryan Kohberger, 28, is accused of fatally stabbing 20-year-old Ethan Chapin of Conway, Washington; 21-year-old Madison Mogen of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; 20-year-old Xana Kernodle of Avondale, Arizona; and 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves of Rathdrum, Idaho on November 13.
A motive for the murders is still not known.
murder victims from left: Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Maddie Mogen
Bryan Kohberger on Thursday waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing (within 14 days).
Kohberger communicated through his public defender that he plans on challenging the evidence presented in the 19-page affidavit at the preliminary hearing.
The preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 26 at 9 am where both sides will present evidence and witnesses.
Kohberger appeared to have cuts on his face as he entered the courtroom.
WATCH:
Click here to read the details connecting Bryan Kohberger to the quadruple murders, including DNA evidence found on a knife sheath left behind at the crime scene, phone pings linking him to the house on King Road and video of the suspect’s white Hyundai Elantra driving by the victims’ home.
The judge also sealed a pair of search warrants related to the quadruple homicide.
police executed a search warrant at Kohberger’s Pullman, WA home
The search warrants are expected to have explosive evidence connecting Bryan Kohberger to the grisly murders.
The judge ordered a two-month seal on the warrants.
According to the court documents, the information in the search warrants could create a ‘threat to public safety.’
Fox News reported:
A Washington court has sealed a pair of search warrants in connection with the quadruple murder of four University of Idaho students who were attacked in their sleep just a few miles over the state line, court documents reveal.
A Whitman County judge sealed the files after prosecutors argued that “premature public disclosure” could threaten law enforcement, the integrity of the investigation and public safety. He ordered a two-month seal but left open the option to make them public sooner if appropriate.
A Whitman County judge ordered the seal until March 1, court documents show.
“Weighed against the public interest in the open administration of justice, compelling circumstances warrant the temporary sealing ordered in this manner,” Whitman County Superior Court Judge Gary Libey wrote in two nearly identical Dec. 30 orders, for warrant Nos. 12-29-2022A and B.
“It is estimated the investigation will likely be concluded within two months from date, so an order sealing the file for that period of time is appropriate and necessary,” he added.
The orders to seal, however, were to remain public, he wrote. Those documents reveal that WSU Assistant Police Chief Dawn Daniels wrote the affidavits supporting both Pullman warrants.
