Bryan Kohberger’s defense attorney represented Maddie Mogen’s father on drug charges

The attorney representing the sole suspect in the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students in Moscow City in November has multiple ties to the victims’ parents.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Cara Northington, the mother of victim Xana Kenodle, 20, was represented by Bryan Kohberger’s attorney, Anne Taylor, on drug charges until January 5, the same day. in which the suspect was extradited to Idaho.

Court records obtained by inside edition now show that Taylor, the head of the Kootenai Public Defender’s Office, represented Madison Mogen’s stepmother, Korie Hatrock, on drug charges in June 2022. Taylor also oversaw a case involving Mogen’s father, Benjamin, in 2020.

On December 30, police arrested Kohberger, a criminology doctoral student at Washington State University in Pullman, eight miles from the Moscow residence.

He is accused of brutally stabbing Kenodle and Mogen, as well as Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin. The suspect was arrested on December 30 at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania and extradited to Idaho on January 5.

Madison Mogen’s father Ben and stepmother Korie Hatrock pictured together in August 2020

Ben Mogen was sentenced to 90 days in prison after pleading guilty to the charges in 2020. While Hatrock pleaded guilty to possession of an illegal substance, it’s unclear if he served any prison time.

Some speculate that Taylor’s appointment to represent Kohberger was a necessity because the small county did not have an abundance of qualified public defenders.

Taylor is one of 13 public defenders in Idaho approved by the state’s public defense commission to lead a capital case. She is also the only one in all of North Idaho.

The lead public defender role is responsible for planning, implementing, coordinating, directing and evaluating the activities and programs of the Office of the Public Defender, according to a previous job posting for the role in Idaho.

Bryan Kohberger is the only suspect in the murders of Madison Mogen and her three friends in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13.

Taylor has been in the role since June 2017. At the time of his appointment, he said the Couer d’Alene Post Falls Press, It is such a necessary job. It is important to make sure that constitutional rights apply to everyone. You help people who are facing horrible times. I love the job.

The article mentions that Taylor graduated from Idaho State University and the University of Idaho. After graduation, Taylor spent five years working at the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office.

California appellate and trial attorney Matthew Barhoma told DailyMail.com that Taylor appears to want to work the case with Kohberger, describing it as a “strange and unique” situation.

He said: ‘Taylor had a lot of previous dealings with the mother on multiple occasions and that adds to the conflict. You have to assume that she didn’t receive confidential information from the mother that could leak in this case.

‘And then you have to wonder if you can do the job impartially, and it could affect Bryan, who may not have a lawyer replaced.

‘It’s an inherently difficult subject without a clear answer and it’s a gray area. However, if it were me, I would recuse myself from the case.

Taylor is seen with her client of 28 years on January 5. He was a doctoral student in criminology at Washington State University, eight miles from the crime scene.

Victims: Pictured are the four Idaho students who were stabbed to death during the early hours of November 13. Ethan Chapin (center right), Xana Kerndole (right), Kaylee Goncalves (bottom left), and Madison Mogen (top left)

Taylor is seen with Kohberger on January 5, the day Taylor stopped representing Northington.

Xana Kenodle’s mother has claimed that she gave Taylor power of attorney during her legal troubles due to her drug addiction and is unsure what will happen next in her case.

Northington says she “trusted” the lawyer to help her, and she’s not sure if she has new representation.

She added that she feels “betrayed” by Taylor, and felt she had been “abandoned by prosecutors” who knew that Kohberger is a student at WSU, where Xana’s sister, Jaszzmin, attends.

Northington, who has long battled addiction, said she only found out Taylor was representing her daughter’s accused killer when a friend saw him on social media and told her.

It was not clear why a liaison officer from the Victim Witness Coordinator team had not been in touch.

Barhoma explained that it is “plausible” that Taylor only became aware of the conflict after taking the case, but believes that “she would have come out sooner.”

He added: “There is a substantial conflict of interest, even though she is removing herself from the mother’s case, she should also be removed from Bryan’s case.”

Kohberger was arrested Dec. 30 by a SWAT team at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania on their way to search his apartment at Washington State University.

He previously indicated that he believes he will be “exonerated” since his family cannot afford to have him have private representation.