New twist in Bryan Kohberger case after the University of Idaho suspect ‘stayed silent’ on murder of four students

FAMILIES of two of the victims of the Idaho murders have made a legal move against Washington State University and the city of Moscow.

The move comes as the alleged quadruple murderer Bryan Kohberger stood silent as the judge entered a non-guilty plea on his behalf at his arraignment hearing on May 22.

The 28-year-old former WSU student 'stood silent' to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.

Kohberger was charged with the murders of the University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21.

The four young adults were stabbed to death in their off-campus home on November 13, 2022.

Now, the attorney representing the family of Goncalves and Mogen has filed tort notices protecting their rights to sue within the next two years.

The notices, which ABC News has seen, do not show what claims the families could make.

No lawsuits have yet been filed.

The four students died in an attack that was so brutal, police described the scene as the worst they had ever attended.

Mogen and Goncalves were best friends and were discovered dead in bed next to each other.

It was reported that blood was seen dripping on the walls of their rental home in the days following their murder.

The decision by Kohberger and his team to stand silent has been seen as "bizarre" by a legal expert who spoke with The U.S. Sun.

According to research, the tactic means "a defendant does not take a stance on being guilty or not guilty," and it's tantamount to a not guilty plea with the judge entering it on their behalf.

Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Joshua Ritter, a former Los Angeles County prosecutor said: "The decision by Bryan Kohberger and his attorney to stand silent instead of entering a not guilty plea is a bizarre wrinkle in this whole thing.

"The defense is going to have to work very hard, it's an extremely difficult case for them."

The not-guilty plea will see the case proceed to trial which is set to start on October 2 for six weeks.

During the hearing on Monday, the 28-year-old arrived in court in an orange prison jumpsuit.

He was silent while the judge read his rights and informed him once again that he would be facing the death penalty if found guilty of any of the murder charges.

Kohberger responded 'yes' when asked if he understood what he had been told.

It was revealed earlier this month that at least two items seized from Kohberger's apartment tested positive for the presence of blood.

Court documents released by Washington authorities stated that most items came back negative, but two were positive.

These were a mattress cover and an uncased pillow, both described to have had visible "reddish brown stains."

It was not revealed who the blood belongs to.

The items were seized by cops under a search warrant at Kohberger's address on December 30, the day of his arrest for the murders.

Ritter told The U.S. Sun: "At the end of the day, they still have the almost unassailable evidence of his DNA being found on the knife sheath at the crime scene, and an eyewitness match describing someone who looks like Kohberger leaving the home on the night of the murders."

The criminal defense attorney believes that the case against Kohberger is about as "solid as you can get" without a defendant being caught on camera or by an eyewitness in the act of committing murder.

The grieving families of the victims were dressed in black when they were in court as they came face to face with the man accused of killing their children.