Moscow, Idaho – The Idaho Supreme Court has denied a pretrial appeal by Bryan Kohberger’s defense team, further advancing the quadruple-murder case against the Pennsylvania man. Kohberger, 29, is facing charges in connection with the November 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. The decision to dismiss the request to toss the grand jury indictment was made on Tuesday.
Kohberger’s defense argued that their client was improperly indicted on first-degree murder and burglary charges. They claimed that the grand jury used a lower standard of probable cause instead of requiring guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. However, the Idaho Supreme Court rejected this argument.
The ruling did not provide any legal reasoning for the court’s denial of the motion to appeal, but it did grant a separate motion to seal the appeal. This pretrial appeal is the latest in a series of attempts by Kohberger’s legal team to delay the murder trial.
Previously, the defense attempted to have the indictment dismissed due to inadmissible evidence and prosecutorial misconduct. Lead defense attorney Anne Taylor also requested a delay of the trial until at least 2025, citing insufficient time for discovery and witness interviews. In addition, the defense filed a motion to move the trial out of Latah County, claiming that the community’s size and prejudiced pretrial publicity would prevent an impartial jury.
Kohberger stands accused of entering the victims’ off-campus housing in the early hours of November 13, 2022, and fatally stabbing Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. At the time, Kohberger was pursuing a PhD in criminology at Washington State University.
The surviving roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, were present during the murders but were unharmed. They have been ruled out as suspects in the case. Law enforcement officials described the crime scene as the worst they had ever encountered, with blood seeping through the walls of the house.
Kohberger was apprehended at his family’s home in Pennsylvania a month after the murders, following a nearly seven-week-long manhunt. He was then brought to Idaho to face the charges and indicted in May 2023. During his arraignment, Kohberger remained silent, leading the judge to enter a plea of ‘not guilty’ on his behalf. The trial date has yet to be set, as Kohberger has waived his right to a speedy trial.
The denial of the pretrial appeal signifies a significant step forward in the legal proceedings against Bryan Kohberger, bringing the case closer to trial.