Judge orders relocation of trial of man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The judge presiding over the trial of the man accused in the fatal stabbing attacks of four University of Idaho students has agreed to move the trial away from the small town where the shocking crimes took place, citing concerns about whether impartial jurors could be found and whether the courthouse would be adequate for the trial.

In an order issued Friday, Idaho Second Circuit Judge John C. Judge said that given the extensive media coverage of the case, the spread of misinformation on social media and statements by public officials suggesting Kohberger's guilt, it was doubtful whether Bryan Kohberger could receive a fair trial in Moscow, a college town of about 26,000 people in northern Idaho.

He did not specify where the trial will be moved. It is scheduled for June 2025 and is expected to last three months.

“It is undeniable that this case received significant media coverage across the state and nationally,” Judge wrote. “While some of the coverage was neutral about the trial, much of the coverage was sensationalist and prejudicial to Kohberger.”

But even if enough impartial jurors could be selected for the case, the Latah County courthouse would not be able to handle it, Judge said. It is too small to meet the needs of attorneys and there are not enough employees to oversee jury selection from an expanded pool of about 6,000 residents.

In addition, the county does not have enough deputies to provide security in a small courthouse where confidential witnesses can only access it through public hallways and entrances, he said.

Kohberger's defense attorneys requested a change of venue, arguing that the strong emotions in the close-knit community and constant media coverage made it impossible to find an impartial jury in the small college town where the murders took place.

Prosecutors argued that any problems of bias could be resolved by simply calling a larger pool of potential jurors and carefully questioning them, noting the inconvenience of having lawyers, witnesses and others travel to another city.

Kohberger, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University, across the state line in Pullman, is charged with quadruple murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.

The four University of Idaho students were killed sometime in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, in an apartment building near campus.

Authorities say cell phone data and surveillance videos show that Kohberger visited the victims' neighborhood at least a dozen times before the murders. He also traveled through the area that night and returned to Pullman via a circuitous route. His DNA was found at the crime scene.

His lawyers said in a court document that he was simply out driving that evening, “as he often did, to hike or run and/or look at the moon and stars.”

Police arrested Kohberger six weeks after the murders at his parents' home in Pennsylvania, where he was spending the winter holidays.

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Johnson reported from Seattle.

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