Idaho judge in Bryan Kohberger case slams defense for possibly 'inculpatory' questionnaires
Idaho Judge John Judge on Thursday condemned the defense in the Bryan Kohberger murder case for distributing questionnaires that could be 'inculpatory' to Latah County residents.
Bryan Kohberger's defense team has filed another motion to have his trial moved from Latah County, citing the "mob mentality" within the county where he allegedly stabbed four University of Idaho coeds to death in their home.
According to court documents filed on Monday and reviewed by Fox News Digital, Kohberger's defense argues that the pressure to convict the 29-year-old criminology Ph.D. student is so intense that survey respondents said the community would "burn the courthouse down" if he was acquitted.
"They would probably find him and kill him," said one Latah County survey respondent, according to the filing.
"There would likely be a riot, and he wouldn't last long outside because someone would do the good ole' boy justice," another respondent said.
IDAHO PROSECUTORS OBJECT TO BRYAN KOHBERGER DEFENSE'S EFFORT TO MOVE TRIAL
MOSCOW, IDAHO - AUGUST 18: Bryan Kohberger talks to his attorney Anne Taylor before a hearing on August 18, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022. (August Frank-Pool/Getty Images)
A third community member said that there would be "riots" if Kohberger weren't convicted, and the victims' "parents would take care of him."
"The mob mentality within the community if the exact reason that statutory grounds, prior to selecting the jury, exist to move venue," Kohberger's defense wrote in the filing. "Given these responses from potential jurors in Moscow and the State's acknowledgment that a remedy is needed for a jury to be selected, the state recognizes the obvious: an enormous venue problem exists."
The defense further argued that jurors would be biased by media coverage of the event, which is the "highest" in Latah County and "does not wane." According to the filing, there are at least 1,300 media stories covering the November 2022 slayings.
The massacre killed 21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, along with 20-year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. All four suffered multiple wounds from a large knife, according to authorities.
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)
BRYAN KOHBERGER DEFENSE CHALLENGES IDAHO PROSECUTORS OVER CELLPHONE RECORDS
"The media coverage inundating Latah County does not tell citizens that no evidence has been presented at this time; that there are no facts on the record at this time; that Bryan Kohberger is innocent; that only a jury decides what the facts are and whether the facts show beyond a reasonable doubt [that] a person is guilty," the defense team wrote.
The team also argues that there is a precedent of changing venue in high-profile Idaho cases: the double murder trials of Idaho's "cult mom" Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell were found guilty of killing Vallow's two children after their trial was moved out of the county.
Kohberger's attorneys wrote that the accused quadruple murderer would "gladly agree to venue change to any of Ada, Canyon or Bannock counties," writing that Ada "is the most rational due to factors of population size, courtroom security and layout [and] cost/convenience."
Idaho prosecutors have formally objected to Kohberger's motion to change venue, per a filing signed by Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson and Special Assistant Attorney General Ingrid Bately.
BRYAN KOHBERGER ASKS COURT FOR CHANGE OF VENUE AFTER DELAYS IN IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS TRIAL
Bryan Kohberger: Charged with four counts of alleged first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in Latah County, Idaho on January 4, 2023. A trial date has not yet been set for the alleged stabbing deaths of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. (Latah County Sheriff's Office)
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"Defendant has filed a motion to change venue, requesting that the trial in this matter be moved from Latah County —where the offenses took place —to Ada County, some 300 miles away," they wrote. "To support his motion, he conducted a survey of prospective jurors in Latah County, Ada County, Canyon County, and Bannock County."
The findings of that survey, they argued, have not justified a move.
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Bryan Christopher Kohberger arrives at Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania on January 3, 2023, before waiving extradition to Idaho to face murder charges in the stabbing deaths of four university students. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
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"Far from demonstrating that a Latah County jury pool has been uniquely subjected to an ‘utterly corrupted’ environment, as Defendant argues in his brief, the data show that pervasive and wide-ranging coverage of this case throughout the entire State of Idaho has led to high case recognition among survey respondents across all four surveyed counties," they continued.
Prosecutors also took issue with the defense survey of potential jurors, arguing it does not reflect "non-response bias" and that polled residents were not given an explanation for the survey.
Read the filing:
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"This Court must ask itself: would an individual who was asked for their opinion about an upcoming jury trial continue a survey if they had no opinions about any upcoming jury trials? And once the survey started, would a prudent, thoughtful, and conscientious person who is reluctant to pass judgment with limited information opine to a stranger whether they believe a criminally accused is guilty of murder," prosecutors wrote.
Not guilty pleas were entered on Kohberger's behalf at his arraignment in May. He could face the death penalty if convicted. The trial is expected to begin next year and could take up to 15 weeks.
Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
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