Legal experts say a new court filing in an Idaho student murder case could seriously handicap the suspect's defense.
A 30-year-old former criminology Ph.D. student has been accused of using a weapon with a large blade to kill Madison Morgen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Zana Carnodor, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20 University of Idaho undergraduate students.
All four victims died from multiple stab wounds, according to Rata County Coroner Kathy Mabubhutt. At the time of the attack, at least two were very intoxicated so they could not resist at all, the prosecutor wrote in a court application.
Under Morgen's body, police discovered a Ka-Bar knife sheath with the US Marine Corps logo engraved, and the snaps allegedly contain Kohberger's DNA.
Prosecutors applaud back to Brian Coberger's “bushy eyebrows” denial by sharing a suspicious selfie from the day of the murder
Prosecutors allege that Brian Coberger took the selfie at 10:31am on November 13, 2022. (ADA County Court)
Prosecutors allegedly bought KA bars, sheaths and sharpeners from Amazon this week in March 2022, months before the murder. Then, weeks after the murder, his Amazon app “Click Activity” is said to indicate that he is browsing for a replacement.
Experts say it's difficult for shopping lists to explain defense lists, particularly based on the timing and specific details that Kohberger said to be watching.
That is a catastrophic fact for his defense.
“There's always this lore about using a knife in murder being particularly personal,” said Edwina Elcox, Boise's defense attorney who follows the case. “And if this is correct, the search time frame linking him indicates an important level of this murder weapon, or at least a critical level of planned level, although I am sure the prosecution will insist on it.”
She said the newly revealed slate of evidence against Kohberger indicates that prosecutors may have stronger cases than previously known.
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Idaho State Court releases text messages of surviving roommates from the night of student murder
Kohberger's defense team asked the court to protect his Amazon records from trial.
“The public information indicates that no other murder weapon has been recovered,” Elcox told Fox News Digital. “And he's looking for this very specific item. This goes beyond the devastating facts of defense… I don't know how you're describing it.”
Madison Morgen on the top left smiled on the shoulder of her best friend Kaylee Goncalves, who posed alongside two other housemates in Ethan Chapin, Zana Carnordal and Goncalves' final Instagram post, sharing four students before being stabbed and killed. (@kayleegoncalves/instagram)
For retired NYPD Sergeant and Cold Case Investigator Joseph Jacaron, Amazon's business records are yet another tool in the digital age, and believes that law enforcement will increasingly help resolve future crimes.
“The electronic evidence certainly is going to bring this case to your mind, which is surprising,” he told Fox News Digital. “I said that cell phone records, internet records and video surveillance will solve most cases in the future, but having this type of information is extremely damaging.”
Prosecutors made a revelation in response to Coberger's defense team, who tried to prevent evidence of his Amazon activities from being locked out of court, in part, by “shaping user behavior” by providing the items shoppers want.
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A screenshot on Amazon.com shows Ka-Bar knife for sale on a shopping website for under $100. (Amazon)
“Applying the test for relevance, first of all, Kohberger's click activity showing the purchase of Ka-bar knife and sheath before the murder caused the Ka-Bar sheath of Brian Koberger's, “Ratta County Councilman wrote Ashley in the evening.”
“Secondly, Kohberger's click activity after the murder makes it more likely that Kohberger has a reason to search for Ka-Bar knife and sheath after the murder (rather than there is no evidence).”
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Brian Coberger arrived at Monroe County Courthouse in Pennsylvania in January 2023 before facing murder charges for extradition to Idaho. (Fox News Digital Image Direct)
This week's Judge Stephen Hippler denied Coberger's request to testify to experts about Amazon's data at next month's hearing. He has not yet awarded any allegations to rule out the evidence.
The FBI's Kohberger DNA tactics did not violate the law, but they raised other public safety concerns
“This is evidence of smoking guns in this case,” says Nima Ramani, a former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, following the case.
Watch: Former prosecutor destroys Brian Coberger's Amazon history
DNA links Coberger to a crime scene, and his Amazon history undermines defense theory that it may have been planted, he said.
“This was a big mistake by Kohberger, who was very careful about covering his truck,” he added.
The house at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, behind a police tape on November 15, 2022. Police say four University of Idaho students were stabbed internally on Nov. 13. (Derek rocked for Fox News digital)
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Kohberger had a PhD. Washington State University Criminology, just 10 miles away from the university Idaho crime scene.
“I think he fantasizes himself… he's very intelligent, but as someone who's studied this field, I know that law enforcement and their searches cast a wide range of nets,” Elcox told Fox News Digital. “You have this in a searchable history format…Okay, you need to be curious. You don't think you're as smart as you thought you were.”
University of Idaho students from left to right: Ethan Chapin, 20; Xana Kernodle, 20; Madison Morgen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21. (Jazzmin Kernodle via ap/instagram/ @kayleegoncalves)
Prosecutors also claim they had travelled his car, the white modern Elantra, to and from the crime scene, and that witnesses saw the masked man inside the house shortly after the murder, and phone records also confirm the suspicions of their event's timeline. However, Kohberger was not identified as a suspect until more than a month after the murder, with the help of an investigative genetic genealogy.
Legal experts say Amazon history deals with evidence, but it raises new questions for those studying the minds of criminals. Was there a suspect trying to replace the lost sheath after being left behind at the crime scene, or a budding serial killer taking steps towards another kill?
State Police Forensic Medicine is looking for clues in Moscow, Idaho on Monday, November 21, 2022. A University of Idaho student was murdered in the home on November 13th. (Derek rocked for Fox News digital)
“I don't think this murder is alone. I think… anyone who does this is likely to kill them again,” criminal psychologist Dr. Chris Mohandi told Fox News Digital. “If it was him, why would he kill that way, unless he enjoyed it?
And while it is believed that anyone who committed the crime has taken steps to hide their trucks, he added that the killer always makes mistakes that catch up with them.
“We guarantee that there was no one of his fingerprints in that scene or that of someone else,” said John Kelly, a criminal craftsman who follows the case. “I wiped it off so well who did it.”
On Sunday, May 21st, 2023, Brian Coberger's former apartment at Washington State University. (Derek rocked for Fox News digital)
Bryan Kohberger doesn't want an Amazon shopping list revealed in court
The search warrant shows police recovering the knife after Kohberger's arrest, but none have been publicly identified as a potential murder weapon.
Kohberger's trial is scheduled to begin on August 11th in Boise.
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If convicted, he could face death penalty. The judge entered into an innocent plea on his behalf in May 2023 with his arrest.
