Judge delays murder trial of Bryan Kohberger, suspect in Idaho 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 July 30, with the jury trial beginning on Aug. 11, Hippler ordered. The trial, including the sentencing phase if Kohberger is convicted, is now expected to last until no later than Nov. 7 next year — nearly the three-year mark of the crime that shook the rural North Idaho college town.

The full trial had previously been planned to conclude by Aug. 29, 2025, under the prior judge in Moscow. A venue change was later granted, which moved the trial to Boise, and the Idaho Supreme Court installed Hippler as the case’s new judge.

The revised trial date appears to represent a compromise between two options Hippler proposed at a previous hearing — a May 2025 start date, which prosecutors supported, and September 2025, which was the defense’s preference. Hippler said he wished to avoid committing potential jurors to the trial for the entirety of their summers under the previous schedule.

Kohberger, 29, is charged in the stabbing deaths of four U of I students at an off-campus home in Moscow in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 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.

Kohberger’s next hearing set for Nov. 7

Several other deadlines from the prior pretrial schedule were maintained with Hippler’s order, or pushed just slightly. The defense’s deadline for filing motions to suppress evidence was kept at Nov. 14, as was its deadline of Jan. 9 to turn over all discovery materials to prosecutors. Jury questionnaire and instruction deadlines were each bumped out about a month.

The forthcoming high-profile trial moved from Moscow to Boise last month at the defense’s request over possible local 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 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.

Kohberger stood silent at his May 2023 arraignment when asked to enter a plea to the five felony charges. Judge in turn entered a plea of not guilty to each of the charges on Kohberger’s behalf.

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