Brian Koberger, the 29-year-old criminology doctoral student accused of killing four undergraduates at the University of Idaho just days before Thanksgiving 2022, is preparing to appear in a new courtroom for the first time after successfully appealing for a change of venue.
Thursday's hearing is the first in Boise and is expected to be a small event to update the new judge on the status of the case, but it marks the start of a new phase in the trial against Koberger, who could face the death penalty if convicted.
Experts say they don't expect any surprises, but that the new judge will make his presence known on both sides when he takes over the case.
Idaho student murder suspect Brian Koberger asks new judge for court attire exception
Brian Koberger is led into an Ada County Sheriff's vehicle waiting at Boise Airport in Boise, Idaho, on September 15, 2024. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“Now that the case has been transferred, this is just a confirmation and presumably to let the parties know what the defendants expect going forward,” said Edwina Elcox, a Boise-based attorney who is not involved in the case.
Judge Steven Hipler is now presiding in Ada County after Latah County Judge John Judge agreed to the defense's motion for a change of venue.
“The judge will introduce himself,” said David Gelman, a New Jersey lawyer who has been following the case closely. “The judge needs to be familiar with everything and the motions that still need to be made.”
“I'm sure they already have good ideas, but changing the venue would create confusion. I'm not saying it would reset everything, but it would definitely take the litigation back a few steps.”
Idaho's new judge in Brian Koberger's case is an expert on brutal murders
Brian Koberger is being held by the Ada County Sheriff's Office, according to online jail records. With the transfer came a new arrest warrant photo taken upon his arrival earlier this month. (Ada County Sheriff's Office)
The previous judge in the case had Koberger enter not guilty pleas to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of theft at his arraignment last year.
His lawyers asked the court to dismiss the possibility of the death penalty.
A hearing on the death penalty issue is scheduled for Nov. 7, nearly two years after the murders.
Sign up to receive our True Crime Newsletter
Madison Morgen (top left) leans on her best friend Kaylee Gonsalves' shoulder and smiles with Ethan Chapin, Zana Kernodle and two other housemates in Gonsalves' final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
Get real-time updates directly True Crime Hub
According to prosecutors, around 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022, a man armed with a large knife broke into an off-campus home and killed four students who were inside: Madison Mogen (21), Kaylee Gonsalves (21), Zana Kernodle (20) and Ethan Chapin (20).
When investigators searched the bloody scene, they found a Kabal knife sheath beneath Morgen's body, which yielded a DNA sample linked to Koberger, according to court documents.
Brian Koberger arrives at the Monroe County Courthouse in Pennsylvania ahead of his extradition hearing. (Image direct from Fox News Digital)
Follow the FOX True Crime Team on X
Additional evidence presented in court included mobile phone records and video showing his vehicle's movements.
The other two roommates were not attacked, but prosecutors said one of them froze in place as he watched the masked man leave through the back door.
The trial has already been postponed and is now scheduled to begin in June 2025.
