New Evidence Revealed in Idaho University Quadruple Murder Case

Kohberger is accused of killing University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.

Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, leaves after an extradition hearing at the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pa., on Jan. 3, 2023. Matt Rourke, Pool/AP Photo

Defense and prosecuting attorneys revealed new details in the Bryan Kohberger murder case after filing some 30 motions, responses, and objections this week.

The pleadings were largely related to what evidence and testimony will be permitted during the trial, which starts on Aug. 11 in Ada County, Idaho.

Kohberger is accused of killing Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, who were all University of Idaho students.

The four were found stabbed to death in an off-campus rental residence in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger was a PhD criminology student at Washington State University’s Pullman campus when he was arrested at his parent’s house in Pennsylvania on Dec 30, 2022.

Ada County Judge Steven Hippler will rule on the pretrial motions after a hearing scheduled for April 9.

Online Amazon History

One pre-trial motion filed by deputy prosecutor Ashley Jennings details the prosecutor’s plan to introduce evidence of Kohberger’s Amazon shopping history, which revealed he allegedly bought a military-style, fixed-blade Ka-Bar knife along with a sheath and sharpener. The purchases were made in March 2022, eight months before the killings.

“A Ka-Bar knife sheath with a USMC logo was found next to one of the victims at 1122 King Road,” Jennings wrote earlier this week in a March 17 court document. “The Defendant’s DNA was found on the Ka-Bar knife sheath found on scene. Applying the test for relevancy, first, Kohberger’s click activity which shows a purchase of a Ka-Bar knife and sheath before the homicides makes it more probable (than it would be without the evidence) that the KaBar sheath found at the crime scene was Bryan Kohberger’s.”

Defense attorneys argued against admitting the evidence while invoking Idaho Rule of Evidence (IRE) 403, which dictates that any evidence that’s unfair, confusing, misleading, would cause delay, waste time, or would be cumulative should be excluded.

‘Bushy Eyebrows’ and Kohberger’s Smiling Selfie

Prosecutors also indicate they will show the jury a witness description of the intruder having “bushy eyebrows” and a self-portrait Kohberger snapped of himself with his phone hours after the murders, in which he is smiling and gesturing with his thumb.

“The State intends to introduce a photograph of Bryan Kohberger taken from his phone on November 13, 2022 only hours after the homicides at 10:31 a.m.,” Whether or not Bryan Kohberger can be described as having “bushy eyebrows” is a factual determination to be decided by the jury.”

In response, defense attorneys argue that the evidence should be excluded because its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice and confusion of the issues under IRE 403.

The four victims were all likely asleep when they were stabbed multiple times. The surviving roommate, who was in the rental home, said she was sleeping and intoxicated when she woke up and saw a man she didn’t know.

A Model of the Crime Scene

Kohberger’s attorneys are also trying to prevent a demonstrative aid that they say is not built to scale from being introduced at trial because it is allegedly unfairly prejudicial, cumulative, confusing, and misleading to the jury.

The state argues its request to have a model of the crime scene handy will be used with witnesses to illustrate testimony to the jury.

Kohberger’s defense team wants the state to instead employ photographs of the house, 3-D imagery, and witnesses that have been inside the house.

“Evidence produced in that manner allow a jury to evaluate it using their own common sense and experience,” wrote Kohberger’s attorney Anne C. Taylor on March 17. “That is not the case if the State utilizes a model that is not to scale. Placement of walls, doors and other structural objects may or may not be accurate. Lines of sight may or may not be accurate. There is real danger of the jury relying on a depiction that is not factually true.”

The prosecution has stated its intent to pursue the death penalty against Kohberger if he is found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary, as previously reported in NTD.

Kohberger’s attorneys said the 30-year-old has autism spectrum disorder and that the death penalty would violate the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The defense team specifically cited Atkins v Virginia, in which the Supreme Court ruled that those with intellectual disabilities can not be executed for a crime.

Special Assistant Attorney General Jeff Nye replied in a response pleading dated March 17 that a person with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) does not necessarily have intellectual disabilities.

“Defendant’s social impairment from ASD does not fall within the rationale articulated in Atkins for prohibiting the death penalty of the intellectually disabled,” Nye wrote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From NTD News