Trial of man accused of killing four Idaho college students to be moved
Sep 9, 2024, 10:25 AM | Updated: Sep 16, 2024, 10:36 am
(Photo by Ted S. Warren-Pool/Getty Images)
MOSCOW, Idaho — A judge has decided to move the trial of Bryan Kohberger, the man charged with the killing of four University of Idaho students.
According to court documents, a change of venue hearing occurred on August 29. It followed the January 30 filing of a motion for change by Kohberger and a February 8 objection by the State of Idaho.
Per the documents, Kohberger argued that the former venue could have proven difficult in selecting an unbiased jury. Previously, the trial was slated to take place at the Latah County courthouse.
“The court has spent many months carefully considering the legal and logistical concerns with a trial of this length and magnitude,” read the court documents.
The trial has received extensive media coverage. The documents said that the coverage could have flooded the pool of potential jurors with prejudicial information.
Furthermore, the court documents said that there has been an ongoing spread of misinformation.
Kohberger’s defense argued that moving the trial to a geographically larger location could provide a larger population to select jurors from.
The State of Idaho has not established a new venue for the trial.
Kohberger is facing four counts of murder. Associated Press previously reported that the trial was set for June 2025.
Bryan Kohberger accused of killing four college students
The Associated Press reported that the four University of Idaho students were murdered sometime in the early morning of November 13, 2022. They were in a rental house near the school’s campus.
Kohberger formerly attended Washington State University. It is just beyond the state line in Pullman.
The small city of Moscow and students attending both schools were shocked. Extensive media coverage followed.
This story is breaking and will be updated.