Attorneys for the man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death in late 2022 are seeking a change of venue, saying he cannot receive a fair trial in the community where the killings took place.
Anne Taylor, Bryan Kohberger’s lead public defender, this week asked Judge John of Idaho’s 2nd Judicial District in Latah County to schedule a hearing no earlier than late April to hear arguments on the possible move, the Idaho Statesman reported.
“A fair and impartial jury could not be found in Latah County because of the extensive and inflammatory pretrial publicity, the allegations made about Mr. Kohberger to the public by the media that would not be accepted at his trial, the small size of the community, the obscenity. of the crimes charged, and the seriousness of the charges Mr. Kohberger faces,” Taylor wrote.
Bryan Kohberger, 29, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, was charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near the university’s campus. in Moscow, Idaho, last year. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if he is convicted.
Bryan Kohberger hears arguments during the trial, Oct. 26. 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. AP
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson told the judge last week that he opposes the change of venue, stating that Latah County first deserves the opportunity to seat a jury because the crime occurred there. Moving the trial elsewhere would not materially affect potential jurors’ familiarity with the case, he said, because it has gained national and international notoriety.
“It’s not Moscow, it’s not the Latah District – it’s everywhere,” Thomson said. “So I don’t think a change of venue is going to solve any of these problems.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
