Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of slaughtering four University of Idaho students in 2022, is headed to trial in August despite his defense team’s effort to delay it.
Judge Steven Hippler issued a written ruling Thursday denying the defense’s motion asking to delay the highly anticipated quadruple murder trial.
The defense had claimed the delay was “necessary to protect” Kohberger’s constitutional rights.
But Hippler wrote in his 20-page written order that “absent from defendant’s materials, however, is any good cause for the continuance or legitimate showing of prejudice should the trial proceed as scheduled.”
He did, however, push proceedings back a week so opening statements are now scheduled for August 18 instead of August 11. Jury selection is expected to begin on August 4.
Kohberger, 30, is accused of killing Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves, four University of Idaho students who were found stabbed to death at an off-campus home in Moscow in November 2022.
At last week’s hearing in Ada County, the judge heard arguments from Kohberger’s team saying his right to fair trial was being impacted due to a recent episode of NBC’s “Dateline,” which revealed previously unreleased case details they claim could improperly influence a jury.
Kohberger’s lead attorney Anne Taylor said the request to push back the trial was “necessary to protect” her client’s constitutional rights.
She also said they were “not prepared to go to trial in this case” and that the “discovery is vast, and we have not had a chance to review it all.”
Prosecutor Josh Hurwit pushed back and said a delay puts the state at the “whim of the media” and warned against a “perpetual continuance.”
“A scorched-the-earth investigation is not what’s required,” Hurwit said. “The court should exercise its discretion to deny the motion” to delay the trial.
Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania six weeks after the brutal murders when police allegedly linked him to the crime scene using DNA recovered from a knife sheath, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Investigators also traced his location using his cell phone and obtained surveillance video showing a car appearing to be the same make and model as his driving away from the scene of the murders.
According to Kohberger’s defense team, he was driving by himself on the night of the murders and he maintains his innocence.
The former PhD student has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of felony burglary. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
