Kohberger asks to wear ‘street clothing’ in court

Bryan Kohberger is asking permission from Ada County to wear “street clothing” at his upcoming hearings.

According to a court document filed Friday by his attorney Anne Taylor, she expressed concern that appearing in court dressed in jail clothing “would impact the presumption of innocence.”

Taylor argued this is one way to reduce prejudice in a case that continues to receive significant media attention.

Taylor and her team successfully argued to move Kohberger’s upcoming hearings and trial to Ada County in an effort to find an impartial jury. They argued the smaller jury pool of Latah County would be too prejudiced by the media reports they have seen and heard.

Taylor wrote that much of the media coverage and social media posts in the past several days have focused on Kohberger’s appearance.

As an example, Taylor said her team “is aware of at least 900 media stories, many of which have focused on Mr. Kohberger’s recent booking photo depicting facial hair.”

Kohberger was allowed to wear a suit and tie during his hearings in Latah County.

His first hearing in Ada County will be held 1 p.m. PDT Thursday in front of Judge Steven Hippler.

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. His trial is scheduled to begin in June.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.