WATCH LIVE: Bryan Kohberger motion hearing in Idaho
This hearing could determine the start of Kohberger's trial in the University of Idaho murders case.
No decision was made to set a trial date for University of Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger on Wednesday, but a hearing will be held in May to determine whether to move the proceedings elsewhere.
Kohberger returned to court as Judge John Judge heard arguments for trial scheduling and the defense's request for a change of venue.
Judge set a May 14 hearing to decide on a potential change of venue. Defense attorneys have argued that the massive publicity surrounding the case could impact potential jurors. He said he did want to move the trial to another county, but that he'll do what's necessary.
Prosecutors said the publicity is everywhere, and the main issues is how the media coverage affects the jurors.
"I'm listening carefully to both sides, and it's a complicated case," Judge said. "It's a death penalty case."
BRYAN KOHBERGER ASKS COURT FOR CHANGE OF VENUE AFTER DELAYS IN IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS TRIAL
Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for a hearing Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, at the Latah County Courthouse in Moscow, U.S. (August Frank/Pool via REUTERS)
Prosecutors had previously requested a trial date for this June, after the end of the spring semester, but the defense wants more time to prepare.
"A fair and impartial jury cannot be found in Latah County owing to the extensive, inflammatory pretrial publicity, allegations made about Mr. Kohberger to the public by media that will be inadmissible at his trial, the small size of the community, the salacious nature of the alleged crimes, and the severity of the charges Mr. Kohberger faces," Anne Taylor, Kohberger's lead defense attorney, wrote in a January court filing.
Taylor previously asked the court to delay Kohberger's trial until at least 2025. The trial could begin on March 3, 2025, which Judge indicated he wasn't happy about. Taylor said the suggested trial date is unrealistic and proposed the trial begin sometime in the summer of 2025.
Both sides also argued Wednesday over an alibi deadline. Kohberger was driving around on the morning of the homicides. Taylor said she needs an expert investigation on cell towers because her client was doing more than just driving.
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Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves' final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
Prosecutors opposed, saying the defense may be trying to get a look at the discovery material to form an alibi. Judge gave the defense until April 17 to provide more details.
"The state does not believe it is appropriate to tie the alibi to the jury trial date in the case," a deputy prosecutor told Judge. "It frankly causes the state great alarm that the defense is discussing calling upwards of 400 witnesses during the innocence phase when we potentially don't have a full alibi disclosure."
Kohberger, a 29-year-old Pennsylvania criminology Ph.D. student, was attending Washington State University in Pullman, across the state line from Moscow, Idaho, where prosecutors allege he entered an off-campus home around 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022, and massacred four students with a large knife.
The victims were Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21, who were childhood best friends, as well as their housemate Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, both 20.
A surviving housemate witnessed a masked man walk out the back door after overhearing sounds of a struggle minutes into the attack, but police were not called until around noon the next day.
It was more than six weeks before police captured a suspect. They arrested Kohberger at his parents' house in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains after a lengthy investigation that included help from the FBI and police across multiple states.
The house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, sits boarded up in Moscow, Idaho on Dec. 27, 2023. Crews began demolishing the building on Dec. 28. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
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Judge entered not guilty pleas on Kohberger's behalf at his arraignment in May. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
The trial was initially expected to last six weeks, but lawyers now expect it to go on for 12 to 15 weeks.
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