A pretrial appeal brought by Brian Koberger’s public defenders to the Idaho Supreme Court was dismissed on Tuesday, but the basis for the dismissal was not disclosed.
Koberger’s attorney argued that prosecutors wrongly indicted his client on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of robbery before a grand jury.
While the grand jury is working towards an indictment, prosecutors must not reach an indictment if the case meets the higher standard of legal guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, rather than the standard of probable cause. He said it must be done.
A one-page decision by the Idaho Supreme Court gave no reasons for rejecting the appeal filed by Koberger’s attorneys, closing the matter.
Brian Koberger asks court for change of venue after trial delays in Idaho student murder case
Brian Koberger enters the courtroom for a motion hearing regarding a gag order in Latah County District Court. Koberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022. (August Frank/Lewiston Morning Tribune, Pool Papers)
The suspects had tried to delay the process by appealing one of the judges’ individual decisions to a higher court, but were denied. Specifically, Koberger wanted the Supreme Court to overturn the judge’s decision not to drop the charges.
Mr. Koberger, 29, holds a Ph.D. in Criminology from Pennsylvania. The student attended Washington State University in Pullman, a neighboring town across the state line, but prosecutors say he broke into an off-campus residence around 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022, and attended the University of Idaho. He claims to have killed four students with a large knife. in Moscow, Idaho.
Koberger’s lead defense attorney, Ann Taylor, has delayed Koberger’s trial until at least 2025, saying there was not enough time to complete discovery and interview more than a few witnesses. It asked the court in January to do so. Rutter District Judge John held off on setting a trial date, but denied Taylor’s efforts to drop the charges against his client.
Idaho murder case: Judge to consider attorney Brian Koberger’s request for summer 2025 trial start date
In November 2022, the murders of Madison Morgen and Kaylee Gonsalves (both 21 years old) and Zana Karnodol and Ethan Chapin (both 20 years old) shocked the nation.
The surviving housemate heard the sounds of a struggle minutes after the attack began and saw a masked man come out the back door, but police were not called until around noon the next day.
Brian Koberger trial: Idaho prosecutors request date and schedule
Four victims of the University of Idaho murders on November 13, 2022. (Instagram/@kayleegoncalves)
It took police more than six weeks to arrest the suspect. After a lengthy investigation that included assistance from the FBI and law enforcement agencies in multiple states, they arrested Koberger at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains.
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A judge entered a not guilty plea on Koberger’s behalf at his arraignment in May. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
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The trial was originally expected to last six weeks, but lawyers now expect it to last 12 to 15 weeks.
The judge has not yet set a start date.
