Idaho prosecutors have formally opposed University of Idaho student murder suspect Brian Koberger’s motion for a change of venue and to move his trial outside of Latah County, where the murder occurred.
The motion, signed by Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson and Special Assistant State’s Attorney General Ingrid Beatty, was made public Tuesday night.
“Defendant filed a motion for change of venue, requesting that the trial of the matter be moved to Ada County, approximately 300 miles from Latah County, where the crimes were committed,” they wrote. “To support his motion, he conducted surveys of potential jurors in Latah, Ada, Canyon and Bannock counties.”
Brian Koberger asks court for change of venue after Idaho student murder trial delayed
Brian Koberger arrives at the Monroe County, Pennsylvania, courthouse ahead of his highly anticipated extradition hearing, where he is charged with the murders of four University of Idaho students. (Image direct from Fox News Digital)
They argued that the findings did not justify the relocation.
“Far from showing, as defendants argue in their briefs, that the Latah County jury pool was subject to a particularly ‘thoroughly corrupt’ environment, the data indicates that widespread publicity about the case throughout Idaho increased awareness of the case among survey respondents in all four counties studied,” they continued.
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)
The prosecution also took issue with the defense’s survey of potential jurors, arguing that it did not reflect “non-response bias” and that residents surveyed were not informed about the survey.
“This Court must ask itself whether a person who is asked for an opinion about an upcoming jury trial would continue the investigation if he or she did not have an opinion about the upcoming jury trial? And once an investigation begins, would a careful, thoughtful and conscientious person who is hesitant to make a judgment on limited information offer an opinion to others about whether or not they believe a criminal defendant is guilty of murder,” the prosecutors wrote.
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Koberger’s attorneys argue the quadruple murder suspect cannot receive a fair trial in Latah County because of “extensive sensational pretrial publicity.”
Read the submission:
Why would the court change venue to another county that gets almost as much media coverage as Latah County?
Our client is accused of breaking into a home at 4 a.m. and ambushing four University of Idaho students, some of whom were asleep.
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The massacre left 21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Gonsalves dead, and 20-year-olds Zana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, all of whom suffered multiple wounds from a large knife, authorities said.
Suspect Brian Koberger is pictured after being extradited to Idaho, where he is charged with the murders of Ethan Chapin, Zana Kernodle, Kaylee Gonsalves and Madison Mogen. (Latah County Sheriff’s Office)
Koberger, 29, a doctoral student in criminology at Pennsylvania State, Washington The university is located in the neighboring town of Pullman, about 10 miles across the state border.
Police arrested him at his parents’ home in the Pocono Mountains after driving across the U.S. with his father a few weeks after the murders.
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The University of Idaho is located in Moscow, Idaho, the county seat of Latah County.
The litigation has been largely conducted behind closed doors, with many documents filed in secret and strict gag orders in place.
Experts say motions to change venue are a common move in high-profile cases. Changes of venue are rare, but they can happen.
Suspect Brian Koberger (right) was stopped by Indiana State Police on Dec. 15, 2022, while driving across the country from Pullman, Washington, to his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, and was later identified as a suspect in the murders of four University of Idaho students. (Hancock County Police Department)
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Idaho ‘Cult Mom’ Double Murder Trial Lori Vallow and Scott Peterson of California, both of whom have moved out of the counties where the crimes occurred.
A judge found Koberger not guilty at his arraignment in May. If convicted, he faces the death penalty. The trial is scheduled to begin next year and could take up to 15 weeks.
The University of Idaho announced last week that it would dedicate a new memorial to the victims in a ceremony on Aug. 21.
The Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial was designed by classmates from the school’s School of Art and Architecture and is intended to commemorate all students who have died while attending the university, including special sculptures for the four victims in November 2022.
