Bryan Kohberger’s murder trial sent to Ada County

The Idaho State Supreme Court says Bryan Kohberger’s murder trial will be held in Boise next summer.

In a Thursday ruling, the court says District Judge Steven Hippler will be assigned to the case. He will replace Latah County District Judge John Judge.

Kohberger will be transferred to the custody of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office. The suspect has remained in Latah County Jail since January 2023.

The Idaho Supreme Court was tasked with deciding the venue after Judge granted Kohberger’s request to move the trial outside Latah County.

Per Idaho Code, Latah County must still cover the cost of the trial. The trial is scheduled to begin June 2 and run until Aug. 29.

Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the November 2022 stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

In his written order filed Sept. 6, Judge wrote that his decision is meant to protect Kohberger’s right to a fair trial. He also shared concerns regarding the security and privacy of a Latah County trial.

Judge agreed with the defense’s argument that Latah County’s relatively small community and its exposure to media coverage of Kohberger would make it difficult to find an impartial jury.

Judge wrote that Kohberger’s defense has met the “rather low standard of demonstrating ‘a reasonable likelihood’ that prejudicial news coverage will compromise a fair trial in Latah County.”

Kohberger’s attorneys argued these issues can be resolved by moving the trial to a county with a larger population, like Ada County.

Judge also wrote in his order that the Latah County Sheriff’s Office lacks the number of officers needed to provide security for the trial while continuing to perform their daily duties of responding to calls.

He also said Latah County doesn’t have enough court clerks to manage the jury selection process, which would require processing information from about 6,000 potential jurors.

Judge believes the small Latah County Courthouse doesn’t have the space to protect the privacy of jurors and witnesses, or to comfortably seat 18 jurors for three months.

The prosecution argued for keeping the trial in Latah County, or a neighboring county like Kootenai or Nez Perce, partly because it would be more convenient for the victims’ family members who are attending the trial.

The Goncalves family expressed their disappointment in Judge’s ruling earlier this week on their Facebook page.

“The family has always felt that Judge Judge favored the defense and it was a common theme that whatever the defense wanted or needed they got,” the family stated.

They added that the trial should be held in Latah County in order to “help the community heal.”

The Idaho Supreme Court made a similar decision in 2021 when it moved the trial for Chad Daybell from Fremont County to Ada County. The defense argued that intense media coverage surrounding Daybell’s case had tainted the jury pool in Fremont County.

Daybell was eventually convicted of killing his wife and his new girlfriend’s two youngest children.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.