A judge has lifted the gag order in the case of Bryan Kohberger, after the former criminology Ph.D. student pled guilty to fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students.
Now, defense attorneys, prosecutors, law enforcement officials, and other parties to the case will be allowed to speak to news outlets.
The lifting of the gag order comes after lawyers for a coalition of more than a dozen media organizations—including The Associated Press, Fox News, and The New York Times—requested that the restriction be removed.
In a legal filing to that effect, the coalition argued that there was no reason for the order, which was intended to keep a potential jury impartial, given that it would no longer go to trial.
Idaho judge Steven Hippler concurred. “At this point, I don’t believe the purpose of the non-dissemination order, to ensure we can seat an impartial jury, is any longer at play,” he said at a hearing Thursday.
While the prosecution had no qualms about lifting the order, attorneys for Kohberger argued that doing so could exacerbate the media frenzy around the case.
“Adding fuel to the fire of media interviews or a rush to interview people as they enter or leave the courthouse only increases our concerns,” said lawyer Bicka Barlow.
The judge acknowledged the concerns, but pushed back, saying, “The media frenzy will continue regardless.”
The judge’s ruling does not unseal documents pertaining to the case, a longer process that will happen after Kohberger is sentenced.
On July 2, Kohberger, 30, pled guilty to breaking into a an off-campus residence in Nov. 2022 and slaying Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin—a group with which he did not appear to have any connection.
Prosecutors alleged that he had meticulously planned the slaying, using his knowledge as a criminology graduate student at Washington State University.
However, Kohberger’s motivation for the brutal crime remains a mystery. He will have a chance to address the court, if he chooses, at his sentencing hearing on July 23.
It remains to be seen whether the lifting of the gag order will yield any information explaining Kohberger’s heinous crime.
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