(NewsNation) — An Idaho judge Thursday denied Bryan Kohberger’s request to dismiss the indictment stemming from the stabbing deaths of four college students late last year.
Kohberger’s lawyers filed the request in July, arguing the grand jury was misled about the standard of proof — that is, what the state needs to convince jurors of to secure an indictment.
During Thursday’s hearing, the judge noted the grand jury in Kohberger’s case received the exact instructions Idaho grand juries have heard for more than 100 years.
Kohberger’s request was critical of Idaho’s grand jury process overall, however, not only how it played out in this case.
Specifically, Kohberger’s team argued a grand jury should draw its conclusion based on the standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt” instead of probable cause.
“Beyond a reasonable doubt” is a stricter standard that jurors use when considering whether to convict at a criminal trial.
Prosecutors, however, pointed to prior Idaho Supreme Court rulings, saying the matter had already been settled in favor of the less strict standard.
Attorneys also met earlier in the day to discuss a separate request to dismiss the indictment on other grounds, this time based on allegations the jury was biased. That hearing was closed to the public because it centered on information about closed grand jury proceedings.
Kohberger is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. They were found stabbed to death in November 2022 in an off-campus house near the University of Idaho.
When it came time to enter a plea, Kohberger chose to do what’s called “standing silent,” a kind of plea option that means he didn’t commit to a guilty or not guilty stance. It has the same immediate effect of entering a not guilty plea, which is how the judge in this case recorded it.