In the upcoming murder trial of Bryan Kohberger in Boise, Idaho, prosecutors have revealed that his defense team plans to argue that someone else may have planted a knife sheath with Kohberger’s DNA at the scene where four University of Idaho students were killed in 2022. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson shared this information in a recent motion filed in the case.
Thompson stated that instead of disputing the presence of Kohberger’s DNA on the knife sheath, the defense intends to assert that the DNA does not confirm Kohberger’s presence at the crime scene and could have been planted by the real culprit. Due to many court documents being sealed, there is currently no way to verify Thompson’s description of the defense strategy against the defense team’s own court filings.
Kohberger faces four murder charges in connection to the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves, who were killed in November 2022 at a rental home near the University of Idaho campus in Moscow. When asked to enter a plea, Kohberger remained silent, resulting in a not-guilty plea being entered on his behalf by a judge. Prosecutors have indicated they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is found guilty.
Evidence suggests that “touch DNA” found on a knife sheath near one of the victims matches DNA taken from Kohberger using investigative genetic genealogy techniques. Despite efforts by defense attorney Anne Taylor to exclude this evidence, Judge Steven Hippler denied the request last month.
Prosecutors have disclosed that they do not plan to present the investigative genetic genealogy evidence during the trial. Instead, they will inform jurors that a “tip” led them to identify Kohberger as a suspect.
Kohberger’s trial is set to commence on August 11 and is projected to span over three months.
