Kohberger hearing: Judge denies motion to stay the proceedings

(NewsNation) — The judge in the trial of Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students, denied the defense’s motion Friday to stay the proceedings.

The defense’s quest for a motion to stay the proceedings was based on what it said were “irregularities” that happened in the grand jury indictment process, which it says violated Idaho code. Kohberger’s defense lawyers also argued they didn’t have all the evidence they needed from prosecutors.

The defense further maintained there were only 32 people called for the grand jury when there should have been 45. It also said there were items that were wrong on the questionnaires that were not done correctly.

Anne Taylor, Kohberger’s attorney, argued, “The court should stay the proceedings and allow an evidentiary hearing to investigate what impact that had on the grand jury indictment.”

Judge John Judge said he studied the case law prior to Friday’s hearing. He noted the affidavit was “vague,” but based on what has been presented, he does not believe there was a substantial failure in the grand jury indictment and denied the motion to stay the proceedings.

The trial is currently scheduled to start in October, with prosecutors pushing for the death penalty.

The four students who died — Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin and Madison Mogen — were found at their off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, last November. A county coroner determined they died from stab wounds.

Investigators created a DNA profile from a knife sheath that they say links Kohberger to the crime, but the defense disputes the nature of the science used to identify him.

The state argued that there is nothing scientific about investigative genetic genealogy (IGG), saying it’s about putting DNA into a database and letting a computer do the work.

The defense said it did not have the lab results of three unidentified male DNA samples, two from within the Moscow house and one from outside. Prosecutors, though, said they provided all they have. 

“There has to be some level of trust in discovery. You are all sworn attorneys,” Judge said. He ordered the prosecution to reach back out to the lab to ensure there are no other existing documents and results that the defense does not have.

The judge said because this is a death penalty case, he doesn’t want to make it through the full trial only to hear during an appeal process that the defense did not have documents it should have had, in which case everyone will be accused of being “bad lawyers.”

The judge said he will not make a decision about the DNA testing at this hearing.

“As far as I’m concerned, we are starting the trial on October 2nd,” the judge said. Jury selection will begin a week before, and about 1,000 potential jurors will be brought in.

Friday’s court proceedings at Latah County Courthouse dealt with six motions, including Kohberger’s defense lawyers’ quest for a motion to stay proceedings and a motion to compel prosecutors to share DNA evidence and the methodology they used.

Stephen Mercer of Maryland, a criminal defense attorney specializing in DNA who was the defense’s first witness, said forensic evidence is often central to a case. It is essential, Mercer said, for attorneys to know about the details of the testing and investigation of DNA evidence.

Mercer said there are pre-trial concerns involving suppression and Fourth Amendment issues, adding there has to be a factual investigation of the conduct law enforcement took during forensic analysis.

The defense also brought in a professional genetic genealogist from California who said the kinds of matches a genealogist can provide can only be considered approximate and are never definite. This is why you never hear it’s a 100% match, she said. Still, the genealogist continued, when multiple matches are made based on a DNA sample, it’s very easy to sort the list on “most likely” versus “least likely.”

The defense argued it cannot articulate to the judge how the prosecution got to naming its client as the suspect because it does not have all the information out there.

The state countered by saying that “this information is not in the possession or control of the prosecuting attorney” and therefore cannot provide what it doesn’t have.

The pretrial hearing also dealt with Kohberger’s alibi, with defense attorneys saying Kohberger was “out driving” at the time of the killings.

The state said it will accept the alibi that he was driving around, but he should specify where exactly if he is not going to call anyone else to verify it.

Taylor said Kohberger doesn’t have to testify if he doesn’t want to at trial. More information about the alibi may come from expert witnesses, but she says she won’t go into it more at this hearing.

The state said Kohberger should be allowed to testify about his alibi, but no third-party witnesses should be allowed to weigh in.

Judge said that if the defense plans to present witnesses to testify about his alibi, then it needs to share who with the prosecution before more time passes.

“Keep the lines of communication open,” the judge said. “Be respectful to each other and maybe some of this can be ironed out a bit sooner.”

The Goncalves family was at the hearing Friday. Steve Goncalves, Kaylee’s father, told NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield he planned to attend the hearing with his wife and lawyer. He said this is all about making sure he sees justice for his daughter and the other victims.

Meanwhile, a pool photographer got a firm scolding from the bailiff in court. At an earlier hearing, the judge instructed pool photographers to shoot the courtroom wide and not focus on Kohberger.

Check back for updates as this story is developing.