(NewsNation) — Based on the evidence, University of Idaho killing suspect Bryan Kohberger has a “strong case” for the death penalty, according to former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer.
Kohberger was given the green light to add another attorney to his defense team. His current lawyer Anne Taylor, chief of the Kootenai County Public Defender’s Office, made the request, and a Latah County judge gave the approval.
In death penalty cases in the state of Idaho, under the administrative code, defense counsel is required to have at least two “death-qualified” attorneys.
“If going in with a knife and committing this type of carnage against four innocent college students doesn’t equal a death penalty going forward … I don’t know what does,” Coffindaffer said during an appearance on “NewsNation Prime.”
Kohberger is facing charges for the stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in November 2022. Kohberger, 28, was a criminal justice graduate student at nearby Washington State University.
The bodies were found Nov. 13 at a rental home across the street from the University of Idaho campus. The slayings shocked the rural Idaho community and neighboring Pullman, Washington, where Washington State University is located.
Watch Coffindaffer’s full analysis in the video player above.