The latest developments ahead of the trial of Idaho quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger

(CNN) — The defense team for Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home in 2022, has requested that the case be moved out of town, saying in a recent memorandum that he could not get a fair trial in Latah County because of the “inflammatory” publicity.

Prosecutors, however, have rejected that argument, saying the court can take other measures to ensure a fair trial. The defense then reiterated its appeal to change the trial venue because poll results showed a “mob mentality” in the district.

The documents represent the latest developments ahead of Kohberger's quadruple murder trial, which is scheduled to begin in June 2025.

It has been a long and rocky road since the four students – Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen – were fatally stabbed on the night of November 13, 2022 in a house not far from the school's main campus in Moscow, Idaho.

Kohberger, a criminology doctoral student at Washington State University, was arrested on December 30, 2022, in his home state of Pennsylvania for the murders. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf in May 2023, and his lawyers have indicated that the 29-year-old intends to present an alibi as part of his defense. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.

The case's progress was slowed by a series of motions and pre-trial hearings that frustrated both the family of one of the victims and the judge overseeing the case.

The hearings essentially fall into several categories. One concerns the defense's access to evidence, particularly the way the prosecution used genetic genealogy in its evidence. A second set of hearings concerns Kohberger's proposed alibi for his innocence. Third, there were a number of hearings related to a news gag order that limits the parties in what they can say publicly about the case.

Here is a timeline of some of the notable developments and pre-trial decisions so far:

June 9, 2023: A coalition of media organizations and the family of a murder victim went to court to challenge the news blackout imposed on those involved in the trial.

23 June 2023: Latah County Judge John Judge denied both requests but issued a revised news gag order that allows the parties to discuss issues that do not have a “substantial likelihood of materially affecting or otherwise affecting the outcome of the case.”

2 August 2023: Kohberger's lawyers said they would use an alibi as a defense, but could not determine their client's exact whereabouts on the night of the murders because he “was out and about during the late night and early morning hours.”

“Mr. Kohberger does not claim to have been in a specific place at a specific time; there is currently no specific witness who could say exactly where Mr. Kohberger was at every single moment during the hours of the attacks,” his lawyers said in a court document.

October 26, 2023: The judge denied a motion to dismiss the grand jury indictment after the defense argued that there was an error in the instructions to the grand jury.

December 18, 2023: The judge denied a second motion to dismiss the charges after the defense argued that prosecutors did not fully comply with state rules on jury selection and jury questionnaires.

February 28, 2024: Defense attorney Anne C. Taylor asked the court to allow three defense experts and others to view the classified genetic genealogy evidence to understand the entire timeline since police began focusing on Kohberger.

Genetic genealogy is a method that combines DNA analysis in the laboratory with genealogical research, such as tracing a person's family tree. In this case, investigators found a single source of male DNA on the snap of a leather knife sheath left at the crime scene, according to an affidavit. FBI investigators uploaded the DNA profile to public genealogy websites to look for a match, then sent out a tip to investigate Kohberger, according to a prosecutor's filing.

The judge initially refused to grant defense investigators expanded access to the genetic genealogy of the investigation, saying he would prefer that the experts who have already been given access to the material provide the rationale for a more in-depth investigation.

4 April 2024: The judge criticized Kohberger's defense attorney, saying she ordered telephone polls of potential jurors that could harm Kohberger's chances of a fair trial. But Taylor said the judge violated her client's right to a fair trial by ordering the anonymous poll to be stopped without first hearing the defense's side.

The judge said in April that he wanted a hearing “at least once a month” and stressed the importance of “cleaning up” the court process.

17 April 2024: Kohberger's defense attorneys filed a court document saying they would present the expertise of a cell tower and radio frequency expert to partially bolster his alibi that he was driving west of Moscow on the night of the murders.

April 19, 2024: The judge allowed the questioning of potential jurors to continue “without changes” after a temporary break.

29 April 2024: The public prosecutor asked the court to deny Kohberger the opportunity to expand his alibi and to prohibit all persons other than the defendant from testifying about his whereabouts on the night of the murder.

May 2, 2024: Kohberger's defense had requested that the upcoming evidentiary hearing with witnesses be made public, while the prosecution requested a closed hearing. The judge decided that the hearing would not be public.

After the hearing, the family of Goncalves, one of the victims, criticized the slow progress of the case. “This case is becoming a hamster wheel of motions, hearings and delayed decisions,” adding that they were “incredibly frustrated.”

May 23, 2024: Taylor, the defense attorney, questioned a Moscow police detective about creating visual cellphone logs and methods for searching for specific videos. The testimony referred to two motions to compel prosecutors to provide evidence to the defense, but the contents of the motions are sealed, so it was not clear what they were requesting.

May 30, 2024: The Moscow police investigator leading the investigation and a defense expert on cell phone tracking data testified that the defense had been denied some crucial evidence in the case.

Cpl. Brett Payne, the lead investigator in the case, testified that he and other investigators collected thousands of hours of video footage while trying to locate a white Hyundai Elantra linked to the suspect. The videos are stored on various USB drives, but there is no central directory of the videos, he testified. He also said investigators did not see the Elantra driving from Moscow to Pullman, Washington, in the early morning hours after the murders on any of the videos.

According to the probable cause affidavit used in the trial, Kohberger drove south toward Pullman after committing the four murders.

Sy Ray, an expert in cellphone geolocation data, testified that he was not provided with the underlying AT&T source data and the list of nearby cell towers used by investigators to create a map of Kohberger's movements using his cellphone. Based on the data he obtained, he believed some statements in the records were inaccurate, and he said the missing data could be helpful to the defense.

“Because of the piecemeal nature of the data, because of the missing data, because of the data that I'm reviewing that is incredibly inaccurate, anything that's missing is absolutely to the defense's advantage right now,” he said.

June 7, 2024: After previously restricting access to the genetic genealogy evidence, the judge ruled that unnamed “defense investigators” could also view the material.

27 June 2024: The parties set a trial date of June 2, 2025. The judge scheduled approximately three months for the trial, including two weeks for jury selection, eight weeks for the trial itself, and two weeks for possible post-conviction hearings and sentencing.

“Setting these deadlines and hearings is a big step in helping us move this forward,” he said.

July 22, 2024: Kohberger's defense team filed a memorandum arguing for the case to be moved out of Latah County, saying he could not get a fair trial there “due to the ongoing and inflammatory publicity.” The defense proposed moving the trial to Ada County, which includes Boise, about 300 miles south. A hearing to discuss the change of venue is scheduled for Aug. 29.

13 August 2024: Prosecutors objected to the defense's motion for a change of venue, arguing that the defense had not proven that Kohberger would not receive a fair trial in the county. “The court should deny the defendant's motion and instead focus on developing remedies to ensure that a fair and impartial jury can be seated in Latah County,” prosecutors argued.

19 August 2024: In a response to the state's objection, Kohberger's defense said moving the venue to Ada County was supported by expert analysis, precedent and the results of a survey in Latah County that showed a “mob mentality.” “The traumatized city of Moscow is understandably filled with deeply rooted, prejudicial guilt,” the defense wrote.