A judge turned down a second request to throw out the case against Bryan Kohberger, who is suspected of stabbing and killing four University of Idaho students last year.
Records from the court show that Judge John Judge did not agree with Kohberger’s team when they asked him to throw out the grand jury charge in the four-murder case.
Kohberger is charged of killing Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Ethan Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves. All four were 21 years old. Their bodies were found in a Moscow, Idaho, home away from school in November 2022.
The defense’s claim of a biased jury and concerns about the proof led to this request to throw out the case. During a meeting in October, the defense said that the prosecutors did not fully follow Title 2 of the Idaho code because of problems with choosing the jury and the questionnaire.
In October, the judge turned down a move to dismiss because it was said that the grand jury had been given wrong instructions.
A May meeting saw him enter pleas of not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder. That day has not been set yet.
Kohberger was caught by police at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania last December. He went to school close to Washington State. The police say they could connect him to a white Elantra that looked a lot like one that was seen on video footage near the killings.
Documents from the court also say that Kohberger’s phone was near the crime scene from 9:12 a.m. to 9:21 a.m., which is hours after the killings.
A tan leather knife sheath found at the scene of the killings was linked to Kohberger’s trash by the Idaho State Lab, which helped narrow down a DNA profile.
Officials have not said what might have caused the deaths.