Kohberger Lawyers Argue for Trial Location Change Due to ‘Mob Mentality’, According to One America News Network
OAN Staff Abril Elfi
4:00 PM – Wednesday, August 21, 2024
Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, have argued that “mob mentality” justifies their plea to move the venue of the trial.
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On Monday, defense attorneys for the defendant, Kohberger, filed court papers that countered the state’s objection to their request to change the location of the trial.
The attorneys presented a survey conducted by a defense expert that showed apparent hostility towards Kohberger from Latah County residents who agreed to take the poll.
In the survey, residents were asked what their response would be if the suspect was not convicted.
“There would likely be a riot and he wouldn’t last long outside because someone would do the good ole’ boy justice,” one poll taker said.
Other residents also claimed in the poll that they would “burn the courthouse down” or “would probably find him and kill him,” if he was declared to be innocent.
Quoting the survey, the defense argued that the “often inaccurate and inflammatory” media coverage in Latah county affected whether potential jurors would find Kohberger guilty.
According to the survey, those who were exposed to media coverage of Kohberger were more likely to prejudge him as being guilty. Latah county has also featured the most media coverage of him than anywhere else in the U.S.
The state previously proposed to move the trial to Nez Perce County, however, the defense argued that the change would not solve the issue as Nez Perce County residents were “exposed to the same media coverage” as those in Latah County.
Last month, Kohberger’s attorneys proposed moving the trial to Ad County instead, in Idaho’s capital, Boise.
According to the survey, Ada County residents appeared to have a lower emotional connection to the case. When asked how they would feel if Kohberger were found not guilty, the majority of responses from poll takers chose the option of “they would go on with life as always.”
Additionally, the defense dismissed the idea of screening jurors, pointing to prior cases that demonstrate that screening is insufficient to guarantee impartiality. Another suggestion was to sequester the jury, but this would be “unnecessary and untenable.”
“The traumatized town of Moscow is understandably filled with deeply held prejudgment opinions of guilt,” the defense attorneys said in concluding their argument.
Both sides are set to present their arguments to the judge on August 29th.
Kohberger is currently awaiting trial on multiple counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary related to the deaths of the four students who were tragically murdered in the same home.
According to the probable cause affidavit, investigators tied him to the murders by using DNA evidence found on a knife sheath that was left at the scene, which was located in the bed where Mogen and Goncalves were found dead.
The affidavit also states that during the course of investigating Kohberger’s prior phone location pings, authorities found that at least 12 times before November 13th, 2022, his cell phone’s location was in the same vicinity of the 1122 King Road residence, where the murders occurred.
Kohberger has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his trial was originally set for October 2nd. However, it was later delayed due to the 29-year-old suspect waiving his right to a speedy trial. It is now tentatively set for June 2025.
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