Prosecutors denounce Kohberger defense’s ‘scorched earth’ trial delay strategy

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — A decision over whether to delay the murder trial of Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the University of Idaho student homicides, was put on hold by the judge overseeing the high-profile case after a hearing Wednesday — just six weeks before jury selection is set to begin.

But it’s “likely” the 30-year-old defendant will be headed to trial on schedule later this summer, Steven Hippler, the presiding judge in the case, said at the close of a half-hour public hearing at the Ada County Courthouse.

“I fully encourage everyone to continue as if the trial is going to take place when it is scheduled for,” he said. “Again, I reserve the right to write the decision that I come to. But as of now, I would tell you that it’s likely you’re going to trial on the date indicated.”

Hippler, of Idaho’s 4th Judicial District, said he’d issue a written decision “in short order” on the defense’s request to put off Kohberger’s trial after the recent disclosure of previously unreleased case details in an episode of NBC’s “Dateline” — which was the result of likely violations of the court’s gag order. The defense also argued they didn’t have enough time to review all remaining evidence received through the legal process of discovery before mounting his defense.

Anne Taylor, Kohberger’s lead attorney, said in court Wednesday that the request to push back the highly anticipated trial was “necessary to protect” her client’s constitutional rights. She added that the defense’s motion “does not come as a surprise,” as they’ve dealt with difficulties throughout the 2 ½-year court process.

“We are not prepared to go to trial in this case,” Taylor said. “The discovery is vast, and we have not had a chance to review it all.”

The average length of time to complete a capital murder case is 3 ½ years, she told Hippler, adding that the timeline in her client’s case was “excessively fast.” The judge interjected that related to federal capital cases only, rather than state-level.

“In federal court,” Hippler responded, “which moves at a snail’s pace in its best day.”

Two more recent major cases in Idaho took years before going to trial — each also at the Ada County Courthouse.

Lori Vallow Daybell, convicted in 2023 of murdering two of her children, didn’t face a jury for three years after her arrest, but avoided the death penalty. Her husband, Chad Daybell, didn’t go to trial until the next year — reaching four years total — after his case also was moved to Boise, which wasn’t able to handle both cases at the same time. He was convicted on similar charges, and also in the killing of his former wife, and sentenced to death.

Kohberger case publicity scrutinized over possible delay

Kohberger is charged with fatally stabbing four U of I undergraduates in November 2022 at an off-campus home in Moscow. At the time, Kohberger lived about 10 miles west in Pullman, Washington, just over the Idaho state line, studying at Washington State University as a Ph.D. student of criminal justice and criminology.

The victims were seniors Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, both 21; junior Xana Kernodle, 20; and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20. The three women lived in the Moscow home with two female roommates who went physically unharmed in the attack early on a Sunday morning. Chapin was Kernodle’s boyfriend and stayed over for the night.

Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and a count of felony burglary. His capital murder trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection in late July and to last into November.

If a jury finds Kohberger guilty at trial, prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty. His defense team has maintained its client’s innocence since Kohberger’s arrest in Pennsylvania in late December 2022 following a sprawling, seven-week homicide investigation that traversed multiple states and garnered federal involvement.

The considerable media coverage of Kohberger’s closely watched case is another reason Taylor argued that a delay is appropriate. Specifically, she brought up the “’Dateline’ issue,” and said that leak of information “wasn’t just a one-time deal.”

“This court has a duty — a responsibility — to make sure that Mr. Kohberger receives a fair trial,” she told Hippler, “and a continuance may be the way that the court can best protect Mr. Kohberger.”

But prosecutor Josh Hurwit, former U.S. Attorney for Idaho, said a delay puts the state at the “whim of the media” and warned against a “perpetual continuance.” The defense has had enough time to prepare and doesn’t need to learn everything about their client to present a fair case, Hurwit argued.

Hurwit told the court the delay came as a surprise to the prosecution “so late in the game” before trial. The defense failed to get the death penalty off the table, Hurwit added, so they’ve now pivoted to try to get the trial pushed back.

“A scorched-the-earth investigation is not what’s required,” Hurwit said. “The court should exercise its discretion to deny the motion.”

Closed hearing on ‘alternate perpetrator’ legal defense

On Wednesday, Hippler also held a closed-door hearing on the defense’s effort to present evidence of an alternate perpetrator at trial. Kohberger’s attorneys said they came across a tip in their review of discovery, and have submitted proof of the person — or persons — as the real culprit, rather than Kohberger. Those legal briefs, and the prosecution’s objections to that trial defense, have all been filed under seal.

Hippler, who took over the case in September when it moved from Moscow six hours south to Boise, is expected to issue a written order on the issue at a later date. He previously questioned in court whether the defense had met a legal threshold for admissibility of the alternate suspect theory, rather than just allegations.

Left unaddressed during the public hearing Wednesday was any discussion from Hippler on whether he will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the presumed gag order violations. The judge last month encouraged the defense to formally request the investigation after the “Dateline” episode aired, and a public log of case filings showed sealed briefs that seemed to suggest that request was made, and the prosecution responded.

Rulings from Hipper are expected on each of the legal matters in the coming days and weeks.