The criminal case against Bryan Kohberger, the man accused in the slayings of four University of Idaho students, is underway.
Kohberger, a 28-year-old Washington State University doctoral student, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary.
He was arrested at his parents’ home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, on December 30 in connection with the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. They were found stabbed to death in an off-campus rental house in Moscow on November 13.
Kohberger has not yet entered a plea to the charges and is waiting to learn whether prosecutors will pursue the death penalty. In a statement prior to Kohberger’s extradition to Idaho, his attorney in Pennsylvania said his client was “eager to be exonerated.”
Here’s a look at some key updates from this week:
Kohberger Waives Right to Speedy Trial
Kohberger appeared in court on Thursday wearing an orange T-shirt and pants.
His attorney, public defender Anne Taylor, told Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall that Kohberger was willing to waive his right to a timely preliminary hearing, which would have required it to be held within 14 days.
“He’s willing to waive timeliness to allow us time to obtain discovery in the case and be prepared,” Taylor told the judge.
Preliminary Hearing Date Set
Marshall set the preliminary hearing for June 26 at 9 a.m. It is expected to last about five days.
At the preliminary hearing, prosecutor Bill Thompson will be expected to show the magistrate judge that he has enough evidence to justify moving forward with the charges.
If the judge agrees, the case will be “bound over” into Idaho’s 2nd District Court. Then Kohberger will appear for arraignment before a district court and have a chance to enter a plea.
Idaho Students Return to Campus
University of Idaho students returned to start classes after winter break on Wednesday.
Many of the university’s students left Moscow around Thanksgiving, opting to take their classes online instead of returning to campus as weeks went by without an arrest in the case.
The university’s president, Scott Green, previously told students that there would be increased security on campus and access to counseling when they returned for the spring semester.
Search Warrant Sealed
The search warrant for Kohberger’s home in Pullman, Washington, was sealed until March.
“Premature public disclosure of the details of this law enforcement investigation will create a serious and imminent threat to law enforcement, and could result in the premature end of this investigation which could create a threat to public safety,” a judge wrote in an order.
Mark Geragos, a criminal defense attorney, said the wording of the order indicates “there’s something there that they don’t want out yet or something that they missed and they’re afraid if it got out, there would be public, what I call, blowback.”
More Details About Kohberger’s Past
This week, a woman detailed a Tinder date she went on with Kohberger in 2015.
The woman, who was a college student at the time, said that after watching a movie, Kohberger “invited himself” back to her dorm and “kept trying to touch” her.
It was also reported that Kohberger may have spoken about battling demons in his head in an online forum for people with visual snow syndrome.
The post Idaho Murders: Key Updates From This Week appeared first on Newsweek.
