Man accused of killing 4 students in Idaho sees change of venue

A judge has agreed to move the trial of the man accused of stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students to another city.

In an order Friday, Idaho Second District Judge John C. Judge expressed concern about whether defendant Bryan Kohberger could receive a fair trial in Latah County District Court in Moscow because the case had received extensive media coverage and statements from public officials suggesting Kohberger's guilt.

He also noted that the courthouse is not large enough to hold the case and that the county sheriff's office does not have enough officers to provide security. He did not provide any information on where the trial would be moved.

“It is undeniable that this case received significant media coverage across the state and nationally,” Judge wrote. “While some of the coverage was neutral about the trial, much of the coverage was sensationalist and prejudicial to Kohberger.”

Kohberger's defense attorneys asked for a change of venue, saying strong emotions in the close-knit community and constant news coverage would make it impossible to find an impartial jury in the small college town where the killings took place. Prosecutors argued that any problems with potential bias could be resolved by simply calling a larger pool of potential jurors and carefully questioning them.

Kohberger, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University, across the state line in Pullman, is charged with quadruple murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.

The four University of Idaho students were killed sometime in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, in an apartment building near campus.

Six weeks later, police arrested Kohberger at his parents' home in Pennsylvania, where he was spending the winter break.

The murders shocked students at both universities and deeply shook the small city of Moscow. The case also sparked a flood of news coverage, much of which Kohberger's defense team says was inflammatory and heavily biased the public against their client.

Boone and Johnson write for the Associated Press. Johnson reported from Seattle.