(NewsNation) — A critical DNA deadline in the case against Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, was set to Dec. 1. However, a gag order remains in place until the trial.
The judge in the case ordered prosecutors to turn over every piece of DNA evidence, saying he preferred to review all of the evidence at one time.
“An expert in DNA analysis will probably be there going over every bit of this. … to walk them through every piece of this evidence,” Forensic analyst Joseph Scott Morgan told “Banfield.” “They (defense) are going to look at this with an incredibly intense light shining on it.”
Kohberger is facing charges in the deaths of four University of Idaho college students, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. The four students were found dead in an off-campus house in a stabbing that shocked the small town of Moscow, Idaho.
It took more than a month for investigators to arrest Kohberger, a graduate student in criminology at Washington State University, located just a few miles from Moscow.
Investigators identified Kohberger using genetic genealogy, a process that takes DNA evidence and compares it to genetic information from family members that may be found on genealogy sites like Ancestry.com or 23andMe.
Investigators use DNA to identify possible family connections which, combined with other evidence like the white Hyundai Elantra seen near the scene, can help narrow down a suspect.
Kohberger was arrested at his family’s home in Pennsylvania before being brought back to Idaho where he has remained in jail.
He is facing four charges of first-degree murder and one charge of burglary. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
NewsNation’s Steph Whiteside contributed to this report.