Judge grants Kohberger team access to training records
Attorneys for Moscow murder suspect to get background on investigating officers
Latah County District Judge John Judge is granting Bryan Kohberger’s legal team access to the training records of three police officers involved in the Moscow quadruple murder case.
Judge’s written decision was made public nearly a week after Kohberger’s attorneys argued in court that the training records are critical to the case. Kohberger is accused of stabbing UI students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin on Nov. 13 in their King Road home. He faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson is seeking a death penalty sentence against Kohberger.
Anne Taylor, the Kootenai County public defender who is representing Kohberger, said during last week’s hearing that her team wants the training records to better understand the police officers’ process and the decisions they made with evidence in the case. She said two of the officers are from Idaho State Police.
Taylor said the officers interviewed witnesses at the King Road crime scene, attended the autopsy proceedings and participated in the search for the white Hyundai Elantra that was among the evidence leading to Kohberger’s arrest.
Latah County Deputy Prosecutor Ashley Jennings said the records are not material to the case and that the officers likely would not be called by the state to testify in court.
Judge wrote that the defendants “adequately articulated the role each of these officers played in interviewing witnesses and finding and collecting potential evidence.”
He also wrote that the training records are potentially relevant to “challenge the credibility of the officers and the reliability of their methods.…”
The training records could also help the defense prepare for examination or cross-examination of the officers at trial, Judge wrote.They could also help Kohberger’s team challenge the admissibility of evidence gathered by those officers.
Kohberger’s trial is scheduled for Oct. 2.
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
