Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger arraigned in court
Bryan Kohberger, the Ph.D. student accused of murdering four undergrads at the University of Idaho in November, appeared for his arraignment, and the judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf.
Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger "might rely on an alibi" during his upcoming trial, according to a recent court filing and criminal defense attorney John Henry Browne, who represented serial killer Ted Bundy.
Kohberger, 29, who is "standing silent" in the case accusing him of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, reiterated his right to silence in a Monday filing responding to the state's demand to present an alibi.
The suspect's defense team said it "continues investigating and preparing his case." His lawyers also said they have "[e]vidence corroborating" the suspect being at a location other than the crime scene at 1122 King Road in Moscow — an off-campus house where three of the four victims lived — when the murders occurred on Nov. 13, 2022.
His attorneys also anticipate the "cross-examination of witnesses produced by the State" and "calling expert witnesses" during the trial.
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Defendant Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for a motion hearing regarding a gag order in Latah County District Court on June 9, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022. (Zach Wilkinson-Pool/Getty Images)
Browne said the filing "is just providing notice that the Defense MIGHT rely on an alibi, without the Defendant testifying."
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"My guess is that the cellphone data may try and put the defendant in a place not close to the murder scene," he said. "Alibi is an AFFIRMATIVE defense, so notice to the State is required."
Bryan Kohberger, left, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, looks toward his attorney during a hearing in Latah County District Court, Jan. 5, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool, File)
Idaho and other states require criminal defendants to "give notice to the state of an alibi defense," the attorney explained.
"When the government calls experts to talk about cell towers and the location of cellphones and things like that, then perhaps the defense is going to cross-examine those experts on cellphone information to establish that his cellphone was somewhere else is my guess," Browne added.
A side view of the house in Moscow, Idaho, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022 where four students were slain. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Kohberger — a former criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University in nearby Pullman, Washington — is charged with four counts of murder and burglary after he allegedly stabbed 20-year-old Xana Kernodle, 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves and 21-year-old Madison Mogen with a KA-BAR knife in the early morning hours of Nov. 12, 2022.
Investigators determined that the phone registered to Kohberger pinged at the crime scene between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Nov. 13 and then again around 9 a.m. roughly three hours before police said they received the 911 call reporting the murders, according to an affidavit filed in January.
Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves' final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
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The suspect also apparently visited the King Road residence where the murders took place, right off the University of Idaho campus, at least a dozen times prior to the brutal murders, according to authorities.
Kohberger was arrested in late December 2022. His trial has been scheduled to begin on Oct. 2 and could take up to six weeks. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Fox News' Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
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