As Brian Coberger's trial date approaches the stinging death of four University of Idaho students, new evidence and legal positioning continue to evolve as parties gain the pace of court applications.
The defense not only asks courts to restrict the use of the word “murder” in trials, but also bans mention of psychopaths, sociopaths and even “bushy eyebrows.” They also don't want to allow judges to display too many crime scene photos in front of a ju judge, as the scary images can become “inflammatory.”
Meanwhile, prosecutors have called for a suspension of defense referring to the state's intention to seek the death penalty if the accused is found guilty of “attempt to kill” the accused.
As this could be one of the more consequential claims, Coberger's defense asked the court to abandon the possibility of death penalty, citing prosecutors to disclose their findings too long.
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Brian Coberger was in court at Rata County Courthouse in Moscow, Idaho on August 18, 2023. Coberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022. (August Frank/Lewiston Tribune)
The filings were made public as part of many documents not sealed by an ADA County judge who is currently overseeing the case.
Shannon Gray, a lawyer for the family of 21-year-old victim Kaylee Goncalves, said he could not share his opinion on the filing himself due to a long-standing gag order regarding the case, but he condemned the lack of communication between the authorities and his clients.
“It is unacceptable that the Rata County prosecutor did not notify the victim's family of the motion filed,” he told Fox News Digital. “As we have mentioned before, communication from their office to Goncalves' family was poor to say the least.”
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)
Kohberger's lawyer Anne Taylor refused some prior attempts to remove the death penalty from the table, but she noted that convicted multimurder Lori Vallow had successfully made a similar argument in her own Idaho case.
“This court commented on other cases relating to Kohberger's trial setting and discovery and the moves on expert opinions. The LoriVallow case can be distinguished because it had not waived its speedy trial rights,” Taylor wrote. “But in this case it is the court that repeatedly tells all lawyers and Mr. Coberger that the trial date is set to stone and that by July 30, 2025, everyone must be ready to go.”
Kohberger waived his right to speedy trial and has been held without bail since his arrest on December 30, 2022. However, Taylor argued that it would take another three years to review and understand the digital evidence alone.
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The trial is scheduled to begin in August.
“I think the move to eliminate the death penalty for a finding violation may have a legitimate tooth,” said Boise-based defense attorney Edwina Elcox, who previously represented Vallow. “I think Judge Hippler will keep them on a trial schedule unless it becomes virtually impossible to do so. If the defense claim is accurate, I don't think it will definitely make the court sympathy with the prosecutor.”
A New York City judge restricted the use of the word “murder” at Daniel Penney's trial last year for Jordan Neely's death. However, Penny was not charged with murder. He was charged with manslaughter, and criminally committed negligent murder due to Neely's unintentional death – and later acquitted.
State Police Forensic Medicine is looking for clues in Moscow, Idaho on November 21, 2022. A University of Idaho student was killed in the House of Representatives on November 13, 2022. (Derek rocked for Fox News digital)
Kohberger is accused of four counts of first-degree murder. The defense has not opposed to using words in documents or in ju judge directions, but his lawyers have asked the court to block other variations if specifically applied to “murder,” “murderer,” “murder,” “murder weapons,” and Kohberger.
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“To label Mr. Kohberger as a 'murderer', claiming that either the empty sheath and a weapon suspected to be consistent with the 'murder weapon', or that any of the four deceaseds were “killed” in a fair trial, denying the right to a fair trial and denying the presumed innocent right.”
Furthermore, according to Taylor, using words like “psychopath” and “sociopath,” a suspected quadruped murder would be equivalent to a “name call” and would be “unfairly prejudiced.”
State Police Forensic Medicine is looking for clues in Moscow, Idaho on November 21, 2022. (Derek rocked for Fox News digital)
“Murder is a legal term and there is no basis to rule it out as the crime is being charged,” said Nima Ramani, a Los Angeles-based trial lawyer and former federal prosecutor who follows the case. “They are different and potentially inflammatory, so judges may rule out these conditions, at least during the guilt stage. “Bulbulous eyebrows” were part of the roommate's description.
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Taylor is also trying to curb at least some crime scene photos, police body cams and images of victim autopsies.
On November 14th, 2022, we will be looking at the house at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho. (Derek rocked for Fox News digital)
Photos inside the house are expected to depict horrifying scenes due to the nature of the crime.
Goncalves, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and 20-year-old Ethan Chapin were all stabbed multiple times.
Idaho State Court releases text messages of surviving roommates from the night of student murder
Goncalves' father, Steve Goncalves, told Fox News Digital after the attack that his daughter's wounds contained “tears” and “a big open gouge.”
Rata County Coroner Kathy Mabhutt said that the people who attacked them appeared to use the same knife for each victim.
“It had to be a really big knife to inflict those injuries and kill the four,” she said before Kohberger was identified as a suspect.
Moscow Police Chief James Fry helped transfer the victim's belongings from his home in Moscow, Idaho on December 7, 2022. Brian Coberger will be identified as an interested person in 12 days thanks to the FBI. (Derek rocked for Fox News digital)
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Investigators discovered a Ka-bar knife sheath beneath Morgen's body. A return of the search warrant indicates that police confiscated the knife as part of the investigation, but it is unclear whether it is believed to be a suspected murder weapon.
There are also body cam videos from police who enter their homes, as well as 3D models created by the FBI.
“Crime scene photos can be reached as long as they are not overly cumulative,” Ramani said. “We're talking about a horrible four times the murders, and that's important evidence of this case.”
Brian Coberger will be in court for a hearing on August 18, 2023 at Rata County Courthouse in Moscow. (Frank/Pool in August via Reuters)
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Taylor argued that repeating similarly horrifying images is unfairly prejudiced and could violate Coberger's right to a fair trial.
Lata County Judge John Judge, who oversaw the lawsuit before allowing the venue to change, entered a plea for Coberger in May 2023, in place of his arrest.
The suspect faces four counts of first-degree murder and felony robbery charges, and could face executions by firing a squad if convicted.
New judge, Stephen Hippler of Ada County, is scheduled for a motion hearing in April.
