Judge grants Bryan Kohberger’s request for trial change of venue in yet another blow to Idaho murder victims
The Idaho judge in Bryan Kohberger’s case has decided to move the proceedings, in another setback for the victims’ families.
Kohberger had requested a change of venue, arguing it was impossible to appoint an independent jury in the district where the murders took place.
His lawyers said he would be “lynched” if he was acquitted in Latah County.
Judge John C. Judge granted his request, and it is now up to the state Supreme Court to determine where the trial will take place.
The ruling is yet another setback in a protracted procedure.
The victims were brutally murdered in November 2022.
The judge in the Idaho trial of Bryan Kohberger has agreed to move the proceedings, in a new blow to the victims’ families.
According to Idaho police, the four University of Idaho students were killed in their sleep between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. (Pictured: victims Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Maddie Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and 20-year-old Ethan Chapin)
Kohberger, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University who lives across the state line in Pullman, is accused of four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
His defense team argued that the reporting on the case was inflammatory and that it had left the community heavily prejudiced against their client.
Defense attorney Elisa Massoth’s first witness was James “Todd” Murphy, president of media tracking firm Truescope. Murphy testified that coverage of the case in Latah County, where the college town is located, is more saturated than in other parts of the state.
Latah County has about 3 percent of the state’s population, but media coverage of the case was measured at about 36 percent, Murphy said. That compares with Ada County, where Boise is located, which had about 34 percent exposure and about 26 percent of the state’s population.
Kohberger was arrested in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, a small town in the heart of the Poconos Mountains, more than 2,000 miles from where the gruesome murders took place.
Prosecutors told the judge that the investigation did not provide strong enough evidence to justify moving the trial. Special Assistant Attorney General Ingrid Batey said the investigation data showed that Ada County actually received more media attention than Latah County on some issues.
“The fact is, Your Honor, this case is getting all over the media,” Batey said, suggesting that bias and pressure could be addressed by creating larger jury pools and excluding the public from certain parts of the jury selection process and other hearings. The court could call 1,800 potential jurors in Latah County just as easily as it could in Ada County, Batey told the judge.