Bryan Kohberger trial live: Judge halts Idaho hearing after defense shows case’s mass exposure on social media
An Idaho judge abruptly halted Bryan Kohberger’s hearing on Thursday after an expert witness for the defense showed social media posts in the Moscow courtroom.
Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, was back in court as his defense team fights to relocate his murder trial, arguing a “mob mentality” has formed against him in Latah County.
The third defense witness was Brian Edelman, co-founder of California-based jury consultancy Trial Innovations, who was hired to conduct a survey of prospective jurors in Latah County.
During his presentation, Edelman showed a screen recording of him scrolling through the Facebook post results that appeared when he searched “Moscow murders.”
Kohberger is charged with the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, who were stabbed to death in an off-campus student home in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13 2022.
Police said they linked Kohberger to the murders that rocked the college town through DNA found on a knife sheath, cellphone data, an eyewitness account, and his white Hyundai Elantra.
In a motion filed last week, Kohberger’s lawyers surveyed potential jurors in Latah County who said there could be violence in the local area if he is found not guilty.
Potential jurors said “there would likely be a riot” and “they’d burn the courthouse down”. Prosecutors accused Kohberger’s team of using flawed survey data in its requests to move the trial, and argued the victims’ families will be affected if the case is moved.
Kohberger is set to stand trial in June 2025.
Key points
What to expect from today’s hearing
Where Bryan Kohberger’s attorneys want the trial to take place
Prosecutors oppose moving the trial from Latah County
Who is Bryan Kohberger?
When is Bryan Kohberger’s trial taking place?
Defense witness: Finding a jury not tainted by media coverage is ‘impossible'
23:42 , Andrea Cavallier
Amani El-Alayli, a social psychology professor at Eastern Washington University, told the court that finding potential jurors in Latah County who had not been tainted by media coverage would be virtually impossible.
“I think it would be so hard to be a member of that community and be able to come in and be objective – arguably impossible. We don’t have a known method for undoing things,” she said.
The defense witness also said that people in small communities are more likely to be influenced by statements from people in authority, referring to when the police chief publicly stated that he was certain they had captured Kohberger.
What happened when live feed was cut
23:22 , Andrea Cavallier
When court returned from lunch break, there was a 10-minute portion that was not livestreamed.
During this time, the defense expert was allowed to show the social media posts that prompted the judge to pause the hearing before lunch.
Edelman claimed the posts show bias and conspiracies, including a clip of Nancy Grace, as he argued his point that selecting from a jury pool in Moscow would not give Kohberger a fair trial.
Judge abruptly halts hearing
23:18 , Andrea Cavallier
Judge John Judge abruptly halted the hearing after expert witness for the defense Brian Edelman showed social media posts in court.
Edelman is the co-founder of California-based jury consultancy Trial Innovations, who was hired to conduct a survey of prospective jurors in Latah County.
During his presentation, Edelman showed a screen recording of him scrolling through the Facebook post results that appeared when he searched “Moscow murders.”
Court is back in session
22:04 , Andrea Cavallier
Kohberger’s hearing has resumed its afternoon session.
Watch live on Judge John Judge’s YouTube page:
County commissioners approve $150K boost to Kohberger trial expense budget
20:30 , Andrea Cavallier
The county’s Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved boosting Latah County District Court’s trial expense budget to $150,000 for fiscal year 2025 -- more than 40 times their 2024 budget of $3,500, according to ABC News.
Officials have said the county requires a cash infusion because the high-profile trial will cost taxpayers a lot of money.
Court on lunch break
20:25 , Andrea Cavallier
Court is on lunch break until 1:30pm local time/4:30pm EST.
When court resumes, the livestream will start up 10 minutes later due to a portion of the proceedings that Judge Judge says will not be for the public.
Prosecutors say moving trial to Ada County would be expensive and disruptive for victims’ families
20:00 , Andrea Cavallier
Prosecutors say moving Bryan Kohberger’s June trial to Ada County would be expensive and that it would be disruptive for the victims’ families.
They also argued that just because there has been extensive coverage of the murders doesn’t mean an unbiased jury can’t be seated in Latah County.
Latah County has had more coverage of Kohberger’s case over other counties
19:43 , Andrea Cavallier
In Murphy’s testimony, he displayed graphs and charts that showed how often people in both Latah County and Ada County would have been exposed to media coverage of Kohberger’s case.
As expected, Latah County, where the murders took place, has had more coverage of the case.
The county’s coverage has been steady while it has declined elsewhere.
Defense calls second witness
18:29 , Andrea Cavallier
Court is back in session after a mid-morning break.
The defense calls its second witness to testify – a professor by the name of Dr. El-Alayli.
Court on break
18:08 , Andrea Cavallier
Court is on break until 10:20am local time/1:20 EST.
Defense will present a new witness upon return.
Witness compares media coverage across Idaho counties
17:49 , Andrea Cavallier
Todd Murphy explains to the court that the amount of media coverage of Kohberger’s case was higher in volume in Latah County – where the murders happened – compared to Ada County.
The defense argues the murder trial should be moved to Ada County.
Defense calls first witness
17:24 , Andrea Cavallier
Elisa Massoth, one of Kohberger’s defense attorneys, calls first witness of the day.
Todd Murphy, president of TrueScope, is on the stand.
TrueScope is a media monitoring service.
Hearing for Bryan Kohberger begins
17:16 , Andrea Cavallier
After a 15-minute delay, Bryan Kohberger’s hearing has started.
How to watch the Bryan Kohberger hearing
16:55 , Andrea Cavallier
Bryan Kohberger’s hearing will be livestreamed on Judge John Judge’s YouTube page.
The hearing is expected to begin at 9am local time/12pm EST.
What happened to the Idaho murders house?
16:45 , Andrea Cavallier
There is now an empty lot where the Moscow murder house once stood.
The off-campus home where the four University of Idaho students were fatally stabbed was razed on December 28, 2023 during the school’s holiday break.
The demolition began before the sun came up and within two hours, the three-story house was gone.
Some of America’s most notorious murders happened in private homes.
Many were demolished – some have become tourist attractions.
Andrea Cavallier reports:
Murder homes so horrific they were demolished
Kaylee Goncalves’ family asks for prayers ahead of hearing
16:06 , Andrea Cavallier
The family of Kaylee Goncalves shared photos of the slain University of Idaho student on Facebook Thursday morning and asked for prayers as they make their way to Moscow for Bryan Kohberger’s change of venue hearing.
“Please lift us up in prayer today. We are heading down to Moscow for the change of venue hearing. This is a huge day for our family. We are anxiously waiting.”
The defense is seeking to move the trial, arguing a “mob mentality” has formed against him in Latah County.
But prosecutors have argued the families of the students would be unfairly impacted if the case moved elsewhere.
What’s next for Bryan Kohberger?
15:40 , Andrea Cavallier
Following Kohberger’s hearing today, in which the defense will argue its motion for change of venue, several other court dates will take place ahead of the Idaho murders suspect’s 2025 trial.
On November 7, there will be a hearing for the motion challenging the death penalty.
A final pretrial hearing will take place on April 13, 2025.
Kohberger’s trial is set to start on June 2 and go until the end of August. There will be no trial proceedings on June 19 or July 4.
Ex-roommate of Idaho murders victims reveals last text to friends
15:01 , Andrea Cavallier
A former roommate of the slain University of Idaho students spoke out earlier this year about the moment she realized her friends were dead.
Ashlin Couch told KXLY that she moved into the doomed off-campus house on King Road in Moscow, Idaho, in 2020, with her friends Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen. She moved out in May 2022 and Xana Kernodle took over the lease.
Six months later, Goncalves, 21, Mogen, 21, Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death inside the student home.
In an emotional interview, Couch recalled the moment that she received an alert about a murder on King Road that continues to haunt her.
She said she sent a final text to Mogen, asking: “Are you okay?” But she never got an answer.
Read more:
Ex-roommate of Idaho murders victims breaks silence to reveal last text to friends
The night of the murders
14:00 , Rhian Lubin
Officials believe the students were killed some time between 3am and 4am on Sunday 13 November 2022.
All four were stabbed to death with an “edged weapon such as a knife”.
There was no sign of forced entry, the door appeared to be unlocked and nothing seems to have been taken.
Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt said the victims were “likely sleeping” when they were killed, as all four were found in bed, and were stabbed multiple times.
According to the Latah County records, a car appearing to be Kohberger’s vehicle was seen on various surveillance cameras near the students’ home between 3.29 and 4.20am, before appearing once again in Pullman at 5.25 near the WSU campus.
Io Dodds looked back at a timeline of the case last November to mark one year since the murders.
Timeline of the Idaho college murders
Who are the victims?
13:23 , Rhian Lubin
Goncalves and Mogen, both 21, were seniors at the University of Idaho and were expected to graduate this year.
At a vigil weeks after the murders, Goncalves’ father told how the two “absolutely beautiful” young women first met in sixth grade and became inseparable.
Kernodle and Chapin, both 20, were juniors at the college and began dating months before their deaths.
Six months after the stabbings, the families of the slain students accepted posthumous awards for their achievements.
You can read more about them below.
Everything we know about the Idaho murders
What time is Bryan Kohberger’s hearing today?
12:47 , Rhian Lubin
Kohberger’s hearing is scheduled to take place today at 9am local time (12pm ET), according to a court documents.
Judge John Judge is due to preside over the hearing which will where the defense will argue its motion for change of venue.
It was originally due to take place in June, but was pushed back two months.
Victim’s family speak out ahead of today’s hearing
12:28 , Rhian Lubin
The family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four murdered University of Idaho students, has spoken out ahead of today’s hearing.
Her family said they are “sick” with anticipation about the change of venue hearing.
Prosecutors have argued the families of the students would be unfairly impacted if the case moved elsewhere.
Trial date set for summer 2025
11:55 , Rhian Lubin
Kohberger’s trial date has faced many delays.
It was initially scheduled for October 2023 but postponed indefinitely when Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial.
Then, in late, December that year prosecutors submitted a request for the high-profile trial to begin in the summer of 2024, but it was delayed again.
The trial has finally been set for June 2025.
Both the prosecution and the defense agreed that it’s reasonable to set the trial during the summer when school is on break because of the proximity of Latah County Courthouse to the local schools.
Prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.
Who is Bryan Kohberger?
11:36 , Rhian Lubin
Bryan Kohberger became a household name across America when police swooped on his parents’ home in December 2022 and arrested him for the murders.
Kohberger was a PhD criminology student at Washington State University.
He has been accused of stabbing to death Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in an off-campus student rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November.
He has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder.
People from Kohberger’s past have built a picture of a bullied loner who overcame addiction. Meanwhile, fellow students from his time just over the Idaho border into Washington describe a criminology zealot who “creeped people out”.
With the 29-year-old now facing the death penalty in the case, The Independent asks: Who really is Bryan Kohberger?
Sheila Flynn reports.
Site where murders took place stands empty
11:17 , Rhian Lubin
The site of where the murders took place was demolished in December last year.
On the eve of the hearing, Brian Entin, of NewsNation, went to the house where Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were killed.
Some of the victims’ families opposed the demolition at the time, calling for the house to be preserved until after Kohberger has been tried.
Empty lot today where Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were murdered.
Almost no sign of the house anymore in Moscow, Idaho. pic.twitter.com/sU3Zj7EJof— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) August 28, 2024
Prosectors oppose the motion to relocate trial
11:07 , Rhian Lubin
Prosecutors oppose the motion to move Kohberger’s trial out of the county where he’s accused of having killed the four University of Idaho students in 2022.
They take issue with moving the trial to Ada County, home to Boise, over 300 miles away from Latah County, where the killings occurred.
The prosecutors said the court should “decline to relocate itself, the state, and scores of witnesses hundreds of miles only to face another jury pool with similarly high media exposure.”
Prosecutors added in the filing that Kohberger’s team had used flawed survey data in its requests to move the trial, and that the interest of justice for the families of the dead students would be impacted if the case moved elsewhere.
What to expect from today’s hearing
10:59 , Rhian Lubin
Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger today will fight for his trial to move from Moscow in Latah County to the state’s capital in Boise, or another large city in Idaho.
They argue a “mob mentality” has formed against him in Latah County after surverying potential jurors, and allege he would not receive a fair trial.
In a motion filed last week, Kohberger’s lawyers said their survey revealed there could be violence in the local area if he is found not guilty.
Potential jurors said “there would likely be a riot” and “they’d burn the courthouse down”.
Andrea Cavallier has the details.
Kohberger’s defense says trial needs a new venue because of town’s ‘mob mentality’
Welcome to The Independent’s live blog
10:51 , Rhian Lubin
Follow for live updates on Bryan Kohberger’s court hearing.
