Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger to appear in court as defense challenges prosecution methods

Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger is expected to return to a courtroom this week ahead of his summer murder trial for the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in November 2022. 

A hearing Thursday will consider 12 suppression motions filed by Kohberger’s defense. 

It will be the first time Kohberger has been back in court in over two months, when his defense team asked a Boise judge to “sanction” prosecutors over “inadequate disclosures” through the discovery process.

His defense team is requesting expert witnesses be excluded from the case as a solution. 

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His team is attempting to have nearly all the evidence collected by police against Kohberger thrown out by challenging the legality of search warrants. 

They are arguing the probable cause on which the search warrants were based was established primarily by the police use of investigative genetic genealogy (IGG), which they believe amounts to a violation of Kohberger’s Fourth Amendment rights. 

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IGG is a relatively new approach that allows police to build a family tree of a suspect by comparing DNA found at a crime scene to public databases filled with voluntarily submitted DNA from people trying to learn about their ancestry. 

The other point his defense is arguing is that search warrants were overly broad, notably during the searches of electronic devices,like Kohberger’s phone, laptop and online accounts.

IDAHO PROSECUTORS REJECT BRYAN KOHBERGER’S MANY ATTACKS ON SEARCH WARRANTS

The hearing will also cover a motion to compel discovery, whereby Kohberger’s defense argues it has not been given all the reports, research and data on which expert prosecution witnesses will rely for testimony at trial.

The court has set aside Friday if all the motions are not covered by the close of business Thursday.

Kohberger is facing four charges of first-degree murder and felony burglary in the stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.

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All four students were killed in a 4 a.m. home invasion attack in a six-bedroom home just steps off campus Nov. 13, 2022.

Prosecutors allege he sneaked into the home while some of them were asleep and killed them with a large knife.

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Two housemates survived, including one who told police she saw a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” walk out the back door after overhearing sounds of a struggle.

Police found a Ka-Bar knife sheath under Mogen’s body that prosecutors say contained Kohberger’s DNA. Kohberger drove a white Hyundai Elantra, the same type of car investigators identified as the suspect’s vehicle, and allegedly turned his phone off before heading to and from the crime scene, according to an affidavit. 

Police, citing phone records, also alleged he stalked the victims’ home a dozen times before the murders and drove by once more hours after. 

At the time of the murders, Kohberger was studying for a Ph.D. in criminology at nearby Washington State University, about 10 miles across the state line.

A judge entered not guilty pleas on Kohberger’s behalf at his arraignment in May 2023.

Kohberger is being held without bail and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.