Bryan Kohberger’s lawyers set to name suspect they believe really committed Idaho murders
Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, is now being defended by lawyers who are attempting to shift the blame onto someone else. In a recent court hearing, Judge Steven Hippler revealed that Kohberger’s attorneys are pushing the “alternative perpetrator” theory, suggesting that another individual is responsible for the brutal stabbings at a student house in Moscow, Idaho.
The judge has instructed Kohberger’s legal team to name the suspect they believe to be the real killer and provide any concrete evidence they have to support this claim. However, the evidence presented so far has been deemed as “fairly objectionable in terms of admissibility,” leading the judge to seal the documents until a decision is made on whether they can be presented to jurors at Kohberger’s trial in August.
If convicted, Kohberger could face the death penalty by firing squad for the murders. His attorneys have until May 23 to produce the evidence implicating the alternative perpetrator, with a hearing scheduled for the following month to discuss the matter further.
Kohberger is accused of sneaking into a student house in November 2022 and fatally stabbing Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, and Ethan Chapin, all students at the University of Idaho. Only two housemates survived the attack, with one witness describing a man in a black mask with “bushy eyebrows” leaving the scene – a man prosecutors allege was Kohberger, a former PhD student at the University of Washington.
Latah County prosecutors have created a 3D diorama of the murder house to help jurors visualize the crime scene. Attorney Bill Thompson confirmed the existence of the model, which will be used to map out the locations of the victims and survivors, as well as Kohberger’s alleged movements during the incident.
Kohberger’s defense team has been focused on suppressing the existing evidence against him, including DNA found on a bloody knife sheath at the crime scene and security camera footage showing Kohberger’s car circling the students’ house the night before the killings. They have also requested the exclusion of certain words like “murder,” “murder weapon,” “psychopath,” and “bushy eyebrows” from the trial, arguing that these terms could prejudice the jury.
As the case unfolds, it remains to be seen whether the defense’s alternative perpetrator theory will hold up in court and whether Kohberger will be found guilty of the heinous crimes he is accused of committing.
