Kohberger team seeks dismissal of indictment

An attorney for Bryan Kohberger is asking the Latah County District judge to dismiss the grand jury indictment that led to the quadruple murder suspect’s arraignment.

In a 22-page motion filed Tuesday, attorney Jay Logsdon argued the grand jury was misled about the standard of proof required for an indictment.

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

The grand jury indictment led to his arraignment in May in Latah County District Court. Kohberger chose to stand silent rather than enter a plea during that arraignment. District Judge John Judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Logsdon argued the grand jury was not instructed to find the burden of proof for an indictment, but instead was told to find a lesser burden of proof, which is only appropriate for a preliminary hearing.

“Because the grand jury in this matter was only informed of the improper standard, it was a fundamental error, necessarily depriving Mr. Kohberger of an essential right,” Logsdon wrote.

Logsdon said the indictment should be dismissed or the case should be remanded to magistrate court for a preliminary hearing.

Kohberger’s other attorney, Anne Taylor, also alleged the grand jury was not selected properly and filed a motion to stay court proceedings.

Her motion stated the grand jury selection process failed Idaho code requiring jury candidates to be randomly drawn from a county jury list and “that the jury commissioner shall draw a requisite number of qualified jurors for one or more panels or for a grand jury.”

She also suggested there was an error regarding the qualification questionnaire form that jurors must fill out.

Because of these failures, she wrote, Kohberger requests a stay of proceedings so further investigation can be done.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson filed a motion this week stating Kohberger did not comply with Idaho code regarding an alibi defense. The suspect was supposed to provide an alibi by July 24, which was the deadline both Thompson and the defense agreed to.

An alibi defense means there is evidence that Kohberger was somewhere other than the crime scene when the murders were committed.

Thompson stated Kohberger’s attorneys did not specify where he was at the time of the murders. The suspect also did not provide the names and address of witnesses that can support his alibi defense.

Since Kohberger’s jury trial is scheduled for October, Thompson said his office needs this information so it has time to investigate the evidence.

“Any further delays will substantially prejudice the State’s rights,” Thompson wrote.

Thompson is responding to a court document filed earlier this week by Taylor. In that document Taylor did not provide specific details about an alibi, but stated: “Evidence corroborating Mr. Kohberger being at a location other than the King Road address will be disclosed pursuant to discovery and evidentiary rules as well as statutory requirements.”

Latah County District Court has scheduled a hearing Aug. 18 to discuss multiple issues, including Kohberger’s alibi defense and Judge’s order to stay time for Kohberger’s speedy trial.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.