Judge orders change of venue in trial of man charged with killing 4 Idaho college students

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The judge overseeing the trial of the man charged in the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students has agreed to move it out of the small city where the shocking crimes occurred, citing concerns about finding impartial jurors and whether the courthouse could accommodate the proceedings.

In an order dated Friday, Idaho Second District Judge John C. Judge said extensive media coverage of the case, the spreading of misinformation on social media and statements by public officials suggesting defendant Bryan Kohberger’s guilt made it doubtful he could receive a fair trial in Moscow, a university town of about 26,000 in northern Idaho.

He did not specify where the trial would be moved. It’s set for June 2025 and is expected to last three months.

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“It is undisputed that there has been significant media coverage in this case throughout the State and nationally,” Judge wrote. “While some of the coverage has been neutral reporting of the Court proceedings, much of the coverage has been sensationalized and prejudicial to Kohberger.”

But even if enough impartial jurors could be selected to hear the case, the Latah County courthouse wouldn’t be able to handle it, Judge said. It’s too small to accommodate the needs of the lawyers and doesn’t have enough clerks to oversee the selection of a jury from an expanded pool of some 6,000 residents.

Further, the county doesn’t have enough sheriff’s deputies to ensure security in a small courthouse where the only way in for sensitive witnesses would be through public hallways and entrances, he said.

Kohberger’s defense team sought the change of venue, saying strong emotions in the close-knit community and constant news coverage will make it impossible to find an impartial jury in the small university town where the killings occurred.

Prosecutors argued that any problems with potential bias could be resolved by simply calling a larger pool of potential jurors and questioning them carefully. They noted the inconvenience of forcing attorneys, witnesses and others to travel to a different city.

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Kohberger, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University, which is across the state line in Pullman, faces four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.

The four University of Idaho students were killed sometime in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, in a rental house near the campus.

Authorities have said that cellphone data or surveillance video shows that Kohberger visited the victims’ neighborhood at least a dozen times before the killings; that he traveled in the region that night, returning to Pullman along a roundabout route; and that his DNA was found at the crime scene.

His lawyers said in a court filing he was merely out for a drive that night, “as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars.”

Police arrested Kohberger six weeks after the killings at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, where he was spending winter break.

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Johnson reported from Seattle.