As the trial of Brian Koberger nears, his defense compares to another high-profile case that rocked the nation, the murder trial of “cult mom” Lori Vallow. She and her fifth husband killed two children; His ex-wife in 2019.
She is scheduled to stand trial for two additional murders in Arizona, the murder of her ex-husband Charles Vallow, and a man named Brandon Boudreau, who was married to her niece.
Kohberger, accused of massacring four University of Idaho students in a 4 a.m. home invasion in November 2022, asks a Boise judge to punish prosecutors for their handling of findings in his case. I did.
Idaho suspects killing Brian Koberger in court as defense challenges prosecution methods
Brian Koberger arrives at Monroe County Courthouse in Pennsylvania before his extradition hearing. He later returned to Idaho and was charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students. (Image Direct from Fox News Digital)
The University of Idaho victims were Madison Morgen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Zana Karnodol, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. All four died from multiple stab wounds.
Police said a ka-bar knife sheath was found under Morgen's body, which led them to arrest Koberger at his parents' home in Albrightville, Pennsylvania. He was a Ph.D. student studying criminology at Washington State University at the time of the murder.
The school is a 10 minute drive from the crime scene.
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“Kohberger's defense team will try to take the death penalty off the table in every way possible,” said Boise-based attorney Edwina Elcox, who previously represented Vallow. “Achieving that would be a massive victory. But at this stage I don't think the Defense of Discovery argument will achieve that. But they clearly have no idea how to raise this in the future. It's paving.”
Madison Morgen, top left, smiles over the shoulder of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they join Ethan Chapin, Zana Karnodol, and two other housemates in Goncalves' last Instagram post As he posed, four students shared it before being stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/instagram)
She said she could not comment specifically on Vallow because of his past attorney-client relationship.
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Koberger's defense last month called for sanctions against prosecutors. The defense did not ask that these sanctions include the death penalty, but could have asked for more.
“There are strategic reasons why the defense is doing this. If the judge agrees that the prosecution has not complied with its discovery obligations, he can sanction the prosecution and one of those sanctions is may be taking the death penalty off the table.” Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor who first pointed to Vallow's sanctions earlier this month to Kohberger's defense attorney, asked the judge to punish prosecutors for the delay.
Kohberger could face the death penalty if convicted, but the death penalty was taken off the table in Vallow's Idaho Murder trial after prosecutors missed a deadline.
Brian Koberger Defense wants prosecutors to punish delay
Lori Vallow Daybell is pictured in the Madison County Jail in Rexburg, Idaho, on May 12, 2023, in a booking photo after pleading guilty to murdering her two children and conspiring in the murder of her husband's first wife. I'll take a picture. (Handout via Madison County Sheriff's Office/Reuters)
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“That’s what happened in the recent Lori Vallow Doomsday ‘Cult Mom’ case in Idaho,” Rahmani said. “The judge in that case ruled out the death penalty because of the prosecution's delay in turning over the evidence. Saving Koberger's life would be a major victory for the defense.”
New Jersey defense attorney David Gelman also said the defense only needs to convince one jury beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Vallow uses all reasonable suspicion and continues to be a hound that no one can put her there,” he said. “Coburger's lawyers are doing the same thing.”
Kohberger has been in court multiple times this week and is scheduled for Friday as he looks to drop key evidence. His lawyers also blame prosecutors for repeatedly delaying the discovery process.
Idaho prosecutor rejects Brian Koberger's many attacks on search warrants
“The vast majority of state expert disclosures do not include opinions or reports. These insufficient disclosures require filing defense guilt stage expert disclosures by January 23, 2025. This greatly prejudices Mr. Kohberger, who is under obligation to do so,” attorneys Anne Taylor, Jay Logsdon and Elisaa Massoth, representing Kohberger, wrote in a court filing in late December.
The sanction considered must be the exclusion of the expert. Or, at the very least, an order attracting adequate disclosure and an extension of Mr. Koberger's January 23, 2025. ”
Lori and Chad Daybell were accused of killing 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old JJ Vallow in 2019. (Rexburg Police Department)
They argued that without disclosure they would not know what expert evidence to prepare to fight in court.
“In a perfect world, they would have everything by now, but this case is so large that more discoveries are happening all the time,” Gelman said.
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Judge Stephen Hippler on Wednesday released documents related to some of the disputed DNA evidence in the case, agreeing with prosecutors that releasing it before the case could influence the jury pool. Defense motion to discover denied.
“The best defense is a good offense, and I'm not surprised that Koberger's team is aggressively going after the prosecution,” Rahmani said. “Discovery is a method in a criminal case, which means the state must turn over all evidence, including expert witness reports.”
Kohberger could face the death penalty if convicted. He faces four charges of first-degree murder and felony robbery.
