Sides go back and forth in murder case

The trial for Moscow quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger is still set for Oct. 2 even as both the defense and prosecution continue to argue over evidence and Kohberger’s grand jury indictment.

Kohberger was present Friday in Latah County District Court for a five-hour hearing to discuss a number of issues, including the defense’s claims that there is still evidence the prosecution needs to disclose, Kohberger’s alibi defense and allegations of irregularities with the grand jury 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.

District Judge John Judge presided over Friday’s hearing, which was mostly spent listening to testimony from experts in the fields of forensics and genealogy.

The witnesses were Stephen Mercer, a Maryland attorney who specializes in DNA and forensic litigation; Bicka Barlow, a San Francisco attorney who works on DNA cases; Gabriella Vargas, an investigative genetic genealogist; and Leah Larkin, a California genetic genealogist.

Kohberger’s attorneys used their testimony to argue why the prosecution needs to disclose more DNA-related evidence and how not doing so could be unfair to Kohberger’s defense.

“Cumulatively, it is overwhelming that we must have this evidence to do our work,” said Kohberger attorney Elisa Massoth.

For example, Kohberger’s attorney Anne Taylor claimed there was other male DNA evidence found inside and outside the King Road home where the Nov. 13 murders took place. So far, the only male DNA that has been highlighted in this case was found on a Ka-Bar knife sheath lying next to the bodies of Mogen and Goncalves.

Prosecutor Bill Thompson said those other DNA samples did not meet the criteria to be uploaded into the FBI’s database Combined DNA Index System.

Kohberger’s team said it still needs to see communications from laboratory personnel who investigated evidence, the DNA family tree that the FBI built to narrow down a potential suspect, and 12 months’ worth of logs from the laboratory performing the DNA testing.

They want to cross-examine this evidence to determine if any mistakes were made or if law enforcement accessed DNA databases they had no right to access.

Thompson argued that his office has already disclosed everything the laboratory and the FBI have given to his team. Thompson said everything he heard from the defense about missing evidence is speculation.

“We can’t respond to something that isn’t real,” he said.

Jeff Nye, a special assistant to the attorney general who is working with the prosecution, said not all police investigative work is required to be disclosed. Some of what the defense is asking for, such as the family tree, is not relevant to the case and could violate the privacy of people in that DNA database.

Judge asked Thompson to contact the laboratory and make an additional request for evidence in case there is more that has not been provided to the prosecutor’s office. He also set a deadline to complete discovery for Sept. 1.

Judge decided not to stay proceedings as Kohberger requested. Unless the suspect waives his right to a speedy trial, the trial will be held Oct. 2 .

Kohberger’s attorneys requested to stay proceedings in part because they are contesting the grand jury indictment. The grand jury indictment led to his arraignment in May in Latah County District Court.

Taylor said there were irregularities in the jury selection process. She said only 32 potential jurors showed up to the selection process when 45 were requested. She also said juror questionnaires were not numbered correctly.

Judge said these issues are not unusual and he does not view them as a substantial failure of the grand jury process.

The two sides also discussed Kohberger’s alibi defense. As of now, Thompson said, his only alibi is that he was driving alone in the evening hours of Nob. 12 and the early morning hours of Nov. 13.

He has not offered any witnesses who can support his alibi, but stated more information might come out in testimony during the trial. Taylor agreed that is all the information they have about his alibi.

Judge set a deadline to disclose an alibi for Sept. 8. Judge scheduled several hearings and deadlines for September as both the prosecution and defense hurry to get prepared for the Oct. 2 trial.

The deadline to waive a speedy trial is Sept. 8, and jury selection is set for Sept. 25. The final pretrial conference is scheduled for Sept. 29.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.