An Idaho judge lifted a sweeping gag order in Bryan Kohberger’s quadruple murder case on Thursday.
Bryan Kohberger avoided a potential death sentence by pleading guilty earlier this month to the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students at a rental home near campus in 2022.
A coalition of news organizations, including CBS News and The Associated Press, had asked the court to lift the gag order since a trial is no longer planned. They renewed their request after Kohberger pleaded guilty.
During a 14-minute hearing Thursday morning, 4th District Judge Steven Hippler agreed that lifting the gag order would protect the First Amendment rights of the public and press.
“The primary purpose of the non-dissemination order, which is to ensure that we can seat an impartial jury, is no longer at play,” Hippler said. He said he couldn’t justify continuing the gag order because the public has the right to receive information about the case, and those rights are “paramount.”
Kohberger’s defense team did not speak much during the hearing, but noted the high publicity of the case and said that lifting the non-dissemination order would be “adding fuel to the fire” ahead of Kohberger’s sentencing proceedings. Kohberger is set to be sentenced on July 23.
A different judge in Moscow, Idaho, originally issued the gag order early in the case, saying additional publicity could harm Kohberger’s right to a fair trial.
The press also filed a motion this week to unseal documents in the case. Hippler denied this motion, calling it premature. He said that after sentencing, he plans to review sealed material in the case to determine what can be unsealed. The process may take some time, Hippler warned. Lawyers for Kohberger and the state will be able to object to unsealing anything and can request retractions.
“I’m unlikely to unseal much until after sentencing and after the appeals period has run,” Hippler said. Kohberger waived his right to appeal as part of the plea deal, but he and his counsel can still appeal the case, Hippler said.
Kohberger admitted to breaking into the rental home through a sliding door and killing the four friends, who had no connection with him.
Prosecutors said he spent months carefully planning the attack, and that his studies as a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University helped him take steps to cover up his tracks.
Amanda Arden
contributed to this report.
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