Brian Kohberger’s attorney is making efforts to save him from a death sentence, while also suggesting that the brutal slaying of four University of Idaho students in 2022 might actually be the work of someone else, as revealed by the judge on Thursday.
According to Judge Stephen Hippler, Kohberger’s legal team has informed the court that their client might have been involved in the stabbings that occurred in the early morning hours at a home in Moscow, Idaho.
The judge has instructed the defense to identify this alternative suspect and provide “actual evidence” supporting their claims.
He noted that what the defense has presented thus far is “pretty undesirable,” lacking acceptable standards.
Hippler stated that he has sealed certain documents while awaiting a decision on whether evidence could be shown to judges during Kohberger’s trial set for August.
If convicted of murder, Kohberger could face execution by firing squad.
Kohberger’s lawyers must submit their evidence by May 23, with a hearing to discuss the findings scheduled for next month.
Kohberger is accused of entering a student residence in November 2022, where he allegedly fatally stabbed 20-year-old Xana Kernodle, along with 21-year-olds Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, as well as Ethan Chapin, also 20. Only two roommates survived the incident, and one of them reported seeing a man with a dark mask and “bushy eyebrows” fleeing through the back door. Prosecutors have asserted that this individual was Kohberger, who was pursuing a doctorate at the nearby University of Washington.
To date, Kohberger’s defense has concentrated on contesting the evidence the prosecution aims to use in court. They have filed motions to suppress much of the evidence against him, which includes DNA found on a bloody knife sheath at the scene and security footage that supposedly shows a figure circling the house the night before the murders.
The defense has also asked judges to prohibit terms like “murder,” “murder weapon,” and “psychopath,” arguing that such language could negatively influence jurors.
