BOISE, Idaho– The grand jury indictment against a man accused of killing four University of Idaho students was properly carried out and will stand, a judge has ruled.
Bryan Kohberger is charged with four counts of murder in connection with the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near the university's campus in Moscow, Idaho, last year. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.
But earlier this year, Kohberger's team of attorneys filed motions asking the judge to dismiss the indictment, claiming the prosecutor improperly withheld evidence from grand jurors. Kohberger's attorneys also said the jurors were biased and there was not enough evidence to justify the charges. A document detailing the basis for some of the defense claims was sealed and the judge closed the hearing on the case to the public.
After reviewing transcripts, recordings and other evidence from the secret grand jury proceedings, Second District Judge John Judge rejected those arguments in a written ruling issued late Friday.
“The grand jury is not a trial jury. Its function is to screen whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed with a trial,” Judge wrote in documents uploaded to the state court website Monday. He said the grand jury met that standard and that the proceedings were conducted in accordance with Idaho case law and the state and federal constitutions.
In Idaho, grand jury proceedings are held in secret. Generally, the prosecutor presents evidence to the jurors, who have the power to call and question witnesses and search for other evidence. The grand jurors do not need to hear any evidence in the suspect's favor, and neither the suspect nor his attorney need to be informed of the proceedings.
Not all criminal cases in Idaho are heard by grand juries. Often, prosecutors choose to use a preliminary hearing instead. Preliminary hearings are public and attorneys are given the opportunity to present their own witnesses and evidence and challenge the case presented by the prosecutor. There are no juries at preliminary hearings; instead, a magistrate judge decides whether there is enough evidence to send the case to district court for a hearing.
Kohberger was a graduate student studying criminology at Washington State University, a short drive across the state line from the scene of the killings. He was arrested at his parents' home in Pennsylvania, and the unusual details of the case have attracted widespread interest. Investigators have pieced together DNA evidence, cellphone records and surveillance footage that they say links Kohberger to the killings.