Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students last year, is requesting extra time from the judge so that he may determine whether to submit a formal alibi in the case.
Kohberger’s public defender, Anne Taylor, said in a motion submitted on Friday in Latah County District Court that his defense did not have enough time to thoroughly examine the prosecution’s evidence. The proof “includes thousands of pages of discovery, thousands of photographs, (and) hundreds of hours of recordings,” Taylor stated.
According to Idaho law, a criminal defendant typically has 10 days to disclose information regarding whether they intend to offer an alibi that would show they were not present when the alleged offense occurred, but a judge has the discretion to extend that time limit.
Taylor stated that “the defense needs time to determine this and take into account evidentiary rules.”
The tweet below confirms the news posted by ABC News:
The man accused of killing four Idaho college students is asking the court for more time to decide whether to offer an alibi, new court documents reveal. https://t.co/qVTardY5h0
— ABC News (@ABC) June 12, 2023
Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were killed on November 13 at a residence not far from the university’s main campus in Moscow. Kohberger, 28, is accused of their murders on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. He has entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
Moscow, a city of 25,000 people, was alarmed by the deaths and the drawn-out inquiry. Since 2015, there had not been a homicide in the city. Kohberger was detained at his parent’s house in Pennsylvania in late December after weeks of little information and heightened fears in the neighborhood. Kohberger was then recognized as the alleged murderer. Since then, he has been detained by the police and is being held without bond.
Judge John Judge of the Latah County District Court is also scheduled to rule on a request to modify a gag order made by a media coalition and a lawyer representing the Goncalves family.
The injunction forbids all attorneys involved in the case, including those representing the prosecution, the defense, the victims, and the witnesses, from making any additional public statements beyond what is already known to the public.
Gag Order in Trial of Goncalves Family Sparks Debate
Without the gag order, the defense and prosecution allege, the jury might form an opinion prior to the trial.
However, Shannon Gray, a lawyer for the Goncalves family, asked the court on Friday to modify the gag order so that he could publicly speak on behalf of his clients.
Gray contended that the gag order shouldn’t apply to him or his clients because they are neither parties to the action nor witnesses.
The gag rule, according to a media consortium, should be lifted. The order is “vague, overbroad, unduly restrictive, and not narrowly drawn,” the coalition claimed in a previous filing. “Publicity in and of itself is not prejudicial,” asserted Wendy Olson, an attorney working on behalf of the media group. What they (customers of the media alliance) want is for their reporters to be able to find the correct information that could aid the public in understanding everything.
Olson offered additional suggestions, such as moving the trial to a different location or secluding the jury, to ensure an impartial jury.
How do you stay abreast of the goings-on in California politics? The California Examiner is a great source of up-to-date news on the Golden State.
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