SPOKANE — State prosecutors are seeking a summer 2024 trial for Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students.
In a motion filed Thursday, Latah County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ashley Jennings wrote that prosecutors want to avoid a trial in the area when school is in session.
This is solely for ease and safety of the students at Moscow High School, which is across the street from the Latah County Courthouse, as well as for the University of Idaho students who may live close by.
Jennings wrote the increased amount of media attention has already strained students and citizens in the area. Reporters, social media users and self-proclaimed internet sleuths have all traveled to Moscow to cover Kohberger’s court proceedings.
Kohberger, 29, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the stabbings of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. The four were found dead in November 2022 in an off-campus home.
According to the scheduling motion, Jennings wants the trial to take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day for six weeks. It will allow more time for jurors to tend to their personal affairs, she wrote, and for the state and defense to have time to address any issues presented over the course of trial. The six-week capital trial also will include a possible penalty phase, where a jury will decide if Kohberger deserves to be put to death if they convict him.
The home where the four were killed will not be standing by the time trial arrives. The University of Idaho is planning to demolish it on Dec. 28 after it was donated to the school by the landlord last spring.
Investigators have already made their way through the house at 1122 King Road to gather measurements and create 3D imaging of the interior. Kohberger’s defense team has previously visited the inside of the home for their own purposes. State prosecutors also accessed the home on Thursday for a few hours, according to a news release from the university.
Kohberger’s defense will have an opportunity to reply to the state’s motion for a summer trial.
