Bryan Kohberger's potential jurors issue dire warnings ahead of high-profile trial in brutal murder of four students

Potential jurors in Bryan Kohberger's quadruple murder trial have issued a stark warning ahead of next year's high-profile trial in the murders of four University of Idaho students.

The stark warning was expressed in a brief by the 29-year-old criminology student's lawyers, which quoted residents of Latah County, Idaho, who had predicted street unrest if Kohberger was acquitted.

“They would burn down the courthouse. Outrage would be an understatement,” one resident told a defense expert in a telephone survey of hundreds of potential jurors, according to documents obtained by Court TV.

“There would probably be a riot and he wouldn't last long outside because someone else would give the good old boy his just punishment,” said another.

The defense now argues that these answers prove that the trial should be moved from Moscow to the capital, Boise.

Bryan Kohberger's defense attorneys have argued that a “mob mentality” against him is sufficient justification to move his trial out of Latah County.

Kohberger is set to stand trial for the murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in their off-campus home.

His lawyers claim that when asked what would happen if Kohberger was not convicted, potential jurors in Ada County, home to Boise, gave much more measured answers – including “they would go on with their lives as before” and “I don't know if there would be any particularly strong feelings.”

The different reactions of residents in both districts, according to defense attorneys, suggest that those who were more exposed to media coverage of the quadruple murders were more likely to presume Kohberger guilty.

“The traumatized city of Moscow is understandably filled with deep-seated, prejudicial guilt,” the lawyers wrote in their filing, according to the Idaho Statesman.

“The mob mentality of Latah County will never be a [jury pool] This creates a cross-section of the community.'

Kohberger is accused of murdering University of Idaho (LR) students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle on November 13, 2022

They noted that the case received the most coverage in the district's media and argued that much of that coverage was “inaccurate and inflammatory.”

“The media coverage flooding Latah County does not tell citizens that no evidence has been presented at this time; that no facts are currently on the record; that Bryan Kohberger is innocent,” the filing states.

“Mr Kohberger's publicity has continued since December 30, 2022. It fluctuates, but does not decrease.”

The defense also rejected other approaches to ensure an impartial jury in the trial.

They claimed that the state's proposal to move the jury to neighboring Nez Pearce County was of no use. They argued that the entire northern Idaho region had been cast in a bad light by media coverage of the case.

They also rejected the proposed solution of screening all jurors, citing precedents that show screening alone is not enough to ensure impartiality. According to NBC News, sealing off a jury is “unnecessary and untenable.”

The students were found dead that day in their off-campus house, which has since been demolished.

The scenes inside the house were so gruesome that blood dripped down the outside wall of the property. Investigators described it as the worst crime scene they have ever seen.

But Latah County Attorney Bill Thompson argued that under Idaho law, the defense had failed to prove that a change of venue was “necessary and expedient.”

He says the killings have attracted such great attention and media coverage has been so “extensive and comprehensive” that postponing the trial is unlikely to produce a jury unfamiliar with the case.

Prosecutors also argued last week that a judge must consider the “interests of justice” in the interests of the families of the four students who live nearby.
The family of victim Kaylee Goncalves said through their lawyer that they wanted to continue the trial in Moscow, where Kohberger has been imprisoned since January 2023.

“We hope the trial will remain in Latah County so scheduling is not disrupted, and we pray there will be no delay,” the statement said.

Kohberger has maintained his innocence since his arrest in December 2022

Cellphone data provided by prosecutors shows that the route Bryan Kohberger allegedly took on the night of the brutal murders in Idaho could be a key piece of evidence in the state's case against the 28-year-old. In his alibi motion, his lawyers say they intend to contest that data.

Kohberger has maintained his innocence since his arrest in December 2022 – more than a month after the bloody murders that shocked the nation.

Prosecutors claim his DNA was found in a Ka-Bar knife sheath found in the victim's off-campus home, but the murder weapon was never found.

They also said that cell phone data and surveillance data showed Kohberger's car at the crime scene – but the defense denies these claims.

The defense instead said Kohberger was miles away from the off-campus house where the students were murdered, and in an official alibi in May 2024, they claimed Kohberger was “driving alone” the night of the murders “to look at the moon and the stars.”

The trial is now scheduled for June 2025, and a hearing is scheduled for Thursday on whether the trial should be postponed.