OAN Staff Avril Elfi
Monday, September 9, 2024, 11:30 a.m.
A judge has agreed to move the trial of Brian Koberger, in connection with the murders of four University of Idaho students, to another Idaho city.
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Judge John C. Judge ruled to allow Koberger's trial to be moved to another city because Koberger's lawyers worried their client would not receive a fair trial in Moscow's Latakha County Courthouse because of extensive media coverage of the case and comments by public officials implying the suspects' guilt.
The judge did not say where in Idaho the trial would be moved.
He also said the Latah County Courthouse is not large enough to accommodate the caseload and the sheriff's office does not have enough deputies to carry out the expected security measures.
“Given the undisputed evidence presented by the defense, the extreme nature of the coverage of this case, and Latah County's small population, the defense has met a fairly low standard of showing a 'reasonable likelihood' that prejudiced coverage would jeopardize a fair trial in Latah County,” the judge wrote in his order granting the modification.
Koberger's lawyers made the request to the judge last month, presenting survey results administered by defense experts and arguing they illustrated the apparent hostility toward Koberger among Latah County residents who agreed to be surveyed.
The survey asked how residents would react if a suspect was not convicted.
“He won't be out there for long because there will probably be riots and someone will try to get justice for this good man,” one pollster said.
The defense cited the investigation's findings to argue that “often inaccurate and sensational” media reports in Latah County influenced whether potential jurors found Koberger guilty.
Koberger is currently awaiting trial on multiple counts of first degree murder and one count of robbery in connection with the deaths of four students who were tragically killed in the same home.
The victims were identified as Kaylee Gonsalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Zana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
According to the indictment, investigators linked him to the murders using DNA results from a knife sheath left at the scene and found in the bed where Mogen and Gonsalves were found dead.
The affidavit states that while investigating Koberger's previous phone location information, authorities found him at least 12 times before Nov. 13.NumberAs of January 14, 2022, his cell phone location was in the vicinity of the residence at 1122 King Road where the murder occurred.
Koberger has pleaded not guilty to the charges and his trial was originally scheduled for October 2nd.and The trial was scheduled to begin this year but was later postponed after the suspects waived their right to a speedy trial, and is now tentatively scheduled for June 2025.
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