The Latah County judge overseeing the Bryan C. Kohberger case in Moscow has denied all of the defendant’s motions to throw out a grand jury indictment.

In a written decision posted Monday, District Court Judge John Judge said accurate instructions were given to the grand jury and there was no prosecutorial misconduct in the proceedings that led to Kohberger’s indictment.

“Kohberger has failed to successfully challenge the indictment on grounds of juror bias, lack of sufficient admissible evidence or prosecutorial misconduct,” Judge wrote. “Kohberger was indicted by an impartial grand jury” that had sufficient evidence to find probable cause to believe he committed the alleged crimes.

Kohberger, who was taken into custody in Pennsylvania almost a year ago, is accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022.

The 29-year-old defendant, a Pennsylvania native and former doctoral student at Washington State University, remains in the Latah County Jail awaiting trial on burglary and four counts of first-degree murder. No trial date has been set in the death penalty case, but the latest rulings move the case forward.

UI students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were killed in an off-campus residence at 1122 King Road. The university plans to demolish the house Dec. 28.

Two hearings on the motions for dismissal were held Oct. 26 in Moscow. One was closed to protect the grand jury’s secret procedures and confidential information. The legal arguments of the defense attorneys and the state are redacted in related court documents.

At the conclusion of the second hearing, which was open to the public, the judge ruled against the defense’s attempt to get the indictment dismissed based on legislative history and interpretation of the Idaho Constitution.

The arguments were “historically interesting and creative,” Judge said in the written ruling, but they do not overturn case law or criminal rules.

“The grand jury is not a trial jury,” the judge wrote. “Its function is to screen whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial.”

Kohberger is represented by attorneys Anne Taylor, Jay Logsdon and Elisa Massoth. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson is handling the state’s case, along with attorneys Ashley Jennings, Jeff Nye and Ingrid Batey.

Sandaine can be contacted at kerris@lmtribune.com. You can follow her on X @newsfromkerri.