Murder suspect could face death penalty over slaying of students as they slept

27 June 2023 , 12:34

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Bryan Kohberger could face the death penalty (Image: AP)

Bryan Kohberger could face the death penalty if he is convicted over the stabbings of four University of Idaho students after allegedly showing "utter disregard for human life", according to court documents.

The suspect, 28, is charged with four counts of murder in connection with the deaths of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin after their bodies were found near the Moscow, Idaho, university campus last November.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson filed the notice of his intent to seek the death penalty in court on Monday after pointing to the “aggravating circumstances” in the November 13 killings.

They were described as "especially heinous" and claim Kohberger allegedly showed "utter disregard for human life."

The suspect was arrested on December 30 (AP)

"Consequently, considering all evidence currently known to the State, the State is compelled to file this notice of intent to seek the death penalty," the court document says.

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A not-guilty plea was entered in the case on Kohberger’s behalf earlier this year.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Tuesday.

The stabbings shocked the rural Idaho community and neighbouring Pullman, Washington, where Kohberger was a graduate student studying criminology at Washington State University.

The four University of Idaho students stabbed to death in November, were Kaylee Goncalves, top left; Xana Kernodle, top right; Ethan Chapin, bottom left; and Madison Mogen, bottom right. (Moscow Police Department/TNS via ZUMA Press Wire Service/REX/Shutterstock)

Police released few details about the investigation until after Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in eastern Pennsylvania in early December 30, 2022.

Court documents detailed how police pieced together DNA evidence, mobile phone data and surveillance video that they say links Kohberger to the slayings.

Investigators said traces of DNA found on a knife sheath inside the home where the students were killed matches Kohberger, and that a mobile phone belonging to Kohberger was near the victims’ home on a dozen occasions before the killings.

A white sedan allegedly matching one owned by Kohberger was caught on surveillance footage repeatedly cruising past the rental home around the time of the killings.

Victims Madison Mogen, 21; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21 (ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)

But defence lawyers have filed motions asking the court to order prosecutors to turn over more evidence about the DNA found during the investigation, the searches of Kohberger’s phone and social media records, and the surveillance footage used to identify the make and model of the car.

In an affidavit filed with the motions, defence attorney Anne Taylor said prosecutors have only provided the DNA profile that was taken from traces found on the knife sheath, not the DNA profiles belonging to three other unidentified males that were developed as part of the investigation.

Defence lawyers are also asking for additional time to meet case filing deadlines, noting that they have received thousands of pages of documents to examine, including thousands of photographs, hundreds of hours of recordings, and many gigabytes of electronic phone records and social media data.

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The sheath was partially under both Madison's body and the comforter on the bed. (KA-BAR)

Idaho law requires prosecutors to notify the court of their intent to seek the death penalty within 60 days of a plea being entered.

If a defendant is convicted in a death penalty case, defence lawyers are also given the opportunity to show that mitigating factors exist that would make the death penalty unjust.

Mitigating factors sometimes include evidence that a defendant has mental problems, that they have shown remorse, that they are very young or that they suffered childhood abuse.

Idaho allows executions by lethal injection.

But in recent months, prison officials have been unable to obtain the necessary chemicals, causing one planned execution to be repeatedly postponed.

On July 1, death by firing squad will become an approved back-up method of execution under a law passed by the Legislature earlier this year, though the method is likely to be challenged in federal court.

Liam Buckler