Idaho murders suspect could have access to 'crime lab' with CCTV around campus
The man charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students could have had access to a "crime lab" with police bodycam videos and live streams from security cameras, it has emerged.
Bryan Kohberger, a Washington State University student doing a PhD in Criminology, is accused of the brutal murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin on November 13.
The programme Kohberger is enrolled in maintains a 'Complex Social Interaction (CSI) Lab', which provides students with access to live streams of surveillance cameras and crime scene footage obtained by police departments.
The lab collaborates with police agencies and enables analysing of investigations-related material with the use of software tools.
Students have to apply to gain access to the resources, and the University has denied that Kohberger had access to it. But an insider has claimed that individuals would enter the facility without going through the typical process.
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Bryan Kohberger was arrested several weeks after the bodies of his alleged victims were found slaughtered (Monroe County PA Correctional Fa/ZUMA Press Wire Service/REX/Shutterstock)The unnamed source, who reportedly works for the University, told Fox News that a killer having access to such material would be like "letting a wolf in the henhouse", and condemned the value of the resource done in the lab.
They said: "I don’t think that any amount of positive research that has come out of this department is worth the risks of letting a wolf in the henhouse.
Bryan Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022 (Ted S Warren/AP/REX/Shutterstock)"They are all obsessed with crime and criminals — you’d have to be to have a Ph.D. in criminology — but sometimes that obsession goes to other levels and attracts this kind of madness."
Kohberger will have a preliminary hearing in late June when prosecutors will try to show a judge that they have enough evidence to justify the felony charges.
Kohberger leaves after an extradition hearing before he was taken to Idaho (Matt Rourke/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Bryan Kohberger waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing during a status conference Thursday morning. The 28-year-old Washington State University graduate student is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary, and has not yet entered a plea and is waiting to learn whether prosecutors in the high-profile case will pursue the death penalty.
He appeared in court wearing an orange t-shirt and pants and gave the judge short one-word answers when she asked him if he understood his rights during the roughly five-minute-long hearing.
Kohberger's attorney, Anne Taylor, told Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall that Kohberger was willing to waive his right to a speedy preliminary hearing, which would have required that it be held within two weeks. The hearing itself will likely take four or five days, Taylor said.
Kohberger enters a courtroom in Idaho, for a status hearing - He will appear in court again on June 26 (Kai Eiselein/AP/REX/Shutterstock)"He's willing to waive timeliness to allow us time to obtain discovery in the case and be prepared," Taylor told the judge.
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said he had no objection to waiting until June or even July for the preliminary hearing.
Marshall set the preliminary hearing for June 26 at 9 a.m., expecting it to last for five days.
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The slayings left the rural community in Moscow, Idaho, grief-stricken and afraid, prompting nearly half of the university’s students to leave town for the perceived safety of online courses.
Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were stabbed in their beds as they slept (ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)
Madison Mogen (left and Xana Kernodle (right) (Mad greek/ZUMA Press Wire Service/REX/Shutterstock)Weeks went by without a named suspect and few details were released, but on December 30, Kohberger, a graduate student studying criminology at the university located just 10 miles (16 kilometres) away — was arrested at his parents' home in eastern Pennsylvania. Kohberger was extradited to Idaho last week.
At the preliminary hearing, the prosecutor will be expected to show the magistrate judge that he has enough evidence to justify moving forward with the felony charges, and the defence will try to point out holes in the prosecutor's case to show that the charges should be dropped.
Kaylee Goncalves (second from left, bottom) and Madison Mogen (second from left, top), Ethan Chapin (center) and Xana Kernodle (second from right) (ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)If the magistrate judge agrees that there is evidence to justify the charges, the case will be "bound over" into Idaho's 2nd District Court, and a district judge will take over.
Then Kohberger will have a chance to enter a plea. If he pleads not guilty, the case will begin working toward a trial. If he pleads guilty, a sentencing hearing will be set.
Thompson has 60 days from the time Kohberger enters a plea to say if he will seek the death penalty.
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