Judge delays murder trial of Bryan Kohberger, suspect in U of I students' 2022 deaths

Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman on Oct 9, 2024

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BOISE, Idaho — Bryan Kohberger’s murder trial in Boise has been rescheduled to later in summer 2025.

Ada County Judge Steven Hippler, now handling the closely watched case, delayed the trial by about two months to a start of July 30, 2025, in a scheduling order issued Wednesday. Kohberger’s trial in the killing of four University of Idaho students was previously scheduled to start June 2, 2025.

Jury selection will start on the new date, with the jury trial beginning on Aug. 11, Hippler ordered. The trial is now expected to last until no later than Nov. 7 next year.

Kohberger, 29, is charged in the stabbing deaths of four U of I students at an off-campus home in Moscow in November 2022. The victims were Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle, both 20, and Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21.

Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if he is convicted by a jury. His defense team is challenging a death sentence as a possible punishment for Kohberger.

The forthcoming high-profile trial moved from Moscow to Boise last month over possible juror bias, and the previous trial start date in June 2025 was vacated. The Idaho Supreme Court assigned Hippler, of Idaho’s 4th Judicial District, to the case in place of prior Judge John Judge of Idaho’s 2nd Judicial District in Latah County.

Kohberger, who has remained in police custody since December 2022, was transferred from Moscow to Boise, and made his first appearance in Hippler’s courtroom two weeks ago. Kohberger’s defense team met Tuesday with Hippler in a closed-door hearing over the continuation of his current public defense team as his attorneys.

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