MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Hearing could set rules for evidence and other details in Bryan Kohberger’s quadruple murder trial

Apr 9, 2025, 6:48 AM

Bryan Kohberger murder trial...

Bryan Kohberger listens to arguments during a hearing to overturn his grand jury indictment on October 26, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger, a former criminology PhD student, was indicted earlier this year in the November 2022 killings of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, in an off-campus apartment near the University of Idaho. (Photo: Kai Eiselein-Pool, Getty Images)

(Photo: Kai Eiselein-Pool, Getty Images)

Prosecutors and attorneys for a man charged in the killings of  in 2022 will argue some of the final  they want for Bryan Kohberger’s trial in a two-day hearing set to begin Wednesday morning.

, 30, is accused in the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho. Prosecutors say the four were killed in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, and their bodies were discovered later that day.

Kohberger, then a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University, was  weeks after the killings. Investigators said they matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene.

When asked to enter a plea to the charges, Kohberger stood silent, prompting the judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf.

Here’s what to know about the case and the motion hearing as his trial is set to begin this summer.

What will happen at the hearing?

Attorneys on both sides of the case have filed hundreds of pages of , including whether Kohberger should face the death penalty if he is convicted, whether witnesses should be allowed to testify about things like “touch DNA,” and about who should be allowed in the courtroom during the trial.

The hearing will give the attorneys a chance to make their case in person, discussing the legal reasoning behind their requests. It will also give 4th District Judge Steven Hippler a chance to ask the attorneys questions as he weighs their arguments.

What will the judge be deciding?

Many of the motions are focused on what evidence can be presented to jurors during the trial.

For instance, defense attorneys have asked the judge to find that an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis would make Kohberger ineligible for the death penalty. The defense and prosecution will also likely present arguments over whether jurors should hear  made by two women in the house roughly eight hours after the killings, as they realized one of their roommates wasn’t waking up.

Legal filings also show that prosecutors want to introduce evidence of Kohberger’s “click history” at Amazon.com showing that he purchased a Ka-Bar brand fixed-blade knife eight months before the killings. A Ka-Bar knife sheath was found next to one of the victims.

Kohberger’s attorneys have asked the judge to exclude that online shopping history, saying it could be taken out of context or not reflect the influence of algorithms that recommend purchases.

Prosecutors also want to introduce a photo that Kohberger took of himself hours after the time of the killings because they say it shows what he looked like at that time. A roommate who was in the rental home told police she woke up and saw a stranger with “bushy eyebrows” wearing a face mask inside the home.

Defense attorneys want the judge to bar any testimony about “bushy eyebrows,” because they say it could prejudice the jury against him.

Other topics that could come up include what kinds of questions will be asked during the jury selection process. Attorneys on both sides have submitted proposed questionnaires that could be used to narrow the jury pool down to a small group of candidates, but so far those documents have been sealed from public view.

Will the judge issue rulings during the hearing?

Hippler can “rule from the bench”—simply telling the attorneys what his decision is on each request—but he can also decide to issue a written ruling sometime after the hearing is over. Sometimes written rulings can be particularly helpful in complicated legal cases like this one, because they can help attorneys quickly find and refer to the judge’s decisions months or even years down the road.

When is the trial?

Jury selection in the case is expected to begin July 30, with the trial starting Aug. 11 in the Ada County Courthouse in downtown Boise.

The trial is expected to take nearly three months to complete, lasting into the start of November.

MyNorthwest News

protesters seattle protest no kings...

Frank Sumrall

Protestors set fires outside Seattle federal building during late-night demonstration Saturday

A demonstration is taking place Saturday night on 2nd Avenue and Madison Street, as protesters are blocking all southbound and westbound lanes in the process.

16 hours ago

sea-tac security threat...

MyNorthwest Staff

Person arrested after security threat at Sea-Tac, flights halted

A security issue has prompted a ground stop at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) Saturday.

24 hours ago

The "No Kings" rally at Cal Anderson Park has marched all the way to the Space Needle. (Photo: Scot...

Frank Sumrall

70,000 join ‘No Kings’ protest marching from Capitol Hill to downtown Seattle

Multiple protests have commenced in Seattle and surrounding areas Saturday, including one that started in Cal Anderson Park before marching to downtown Seattle.

1 day ago

molly moon's ice cream west seattle...

MyNorthwest Staff

West Seattle gets sweeter: Molly Moon’s ice cream to open new shop in June

Fourteen months in the making, Molly Moon's Ice Cream has finally announced a grand opening date for its West Seattle location: June 21.

1 day ago

Washinton whooping cough...

Aaron Granillo

WA health officials warn of whooping cough spike tied to lower vaccination rates

A drop in vaccination rates in Washington leads to a surge in whooping cough cases, warns the Department of Health.

2 days ago

immigrant Medicaid data Trump...

Jason Sutich

Trump admin. orders Medicaid data be shared with Homeland Security for immigration enforcement

Deportation officials now access personal data of millions of Medicaid enrollees amid immigration crackdown under the Trump Administration.

2 days ago

Hearing could set rules for evidence and other details in Bryan Kohberger’s quadruple murder trial