The trial of University of Idaho murder suspect Brian Koberger is expected to begin next summer and last more than three months, with the jury deliberating the death penalty, according to new court filings.
Koberger, the 29-year-old man accused of massacring four college students inside an off-campus housing complex on Nov. 13, 2022, will be scheduled to be released on July 30, according to a judge's Wednesday rescheduling order. The trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection. Stephen Hippler.
The case is scheduled to continue until November 7th.
The calendar was created by Ada County Judge Hippler about a month after Koberger's attorneys successfully filed a motion to have his trial moved from sparsely populated Latah County.
The length of the trial is due in part to the fact that it will be divided into two phases: the first phase, which will determine Koberger's guilt or innocence on four felony counts of first-degree murder and robbery; The second step, if found guilty, is to determine whether Mr. Koberger should receive compensation. Death penalty.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case of Koberger, who brutally murdered Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Morgen, 21, Zana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Gonsalves, 21. But they argue there are no mitigating factors that would prevent them from pursuing harsher penalties. It's legal in the Land of Jewels.
Hippler also plans to hold oral arguments next month on whether the death penalty is appropriate in Koberger's case.
In August, lawyers for Mr. Koberger, a former criminology doctor, argued that the Washington State University student could not receive a fair trial in the small, closed community of Moscow, Idaho, where the killing allegedly took place. did.
The defense attorney presented the results of a survey of 400 local residents, of which 60% said they already believed Koberger was guilty, and an additional 52% said he would be on death row if convicted. Some said they would riot or set the courthouse on fire, or even set it on fire. If Koberger is not found guilty, the trial will result in his own murder.
Latah County Judge John Judge sided with Koberger, agreeing that the trial should be moved to the state capital, Boise, about 300 miles away.
Mr. Koberger has pleaded not guilty.
