Bryan Kohberger trial relocation granted in University of Idaho murder case

The trial for Bryan Kohberger, who has been charged in the murder of four University of Idaho students nearly two years ago, will be moved outside of the county where the killings occurred.

Last month, Latah County District Judge John Judge heard arguments from Kohberger’s attorneys that the trial should be moved outside of Latah, Idaho, to Ada County — which is 300 miles away and home to Idaho’s capital, Boise. Kohberger’s lawyers argued it wouldn’t be fair to hold the trial in the same county where the stabbings occurred because those in the jury pool would have been exposed to intense media coverage that would skew their ability to make an impartial decision.

Judge said it would be “the most difficult decision” of his career.

The trial’s new location has yet to be named.

Kohberger’s trial is set to begin on June 2, 2025. He had previously waived his right to a speedy trial, and his lawyers have filed over a dozen motions to have the death penalty taken off the table.

Kohberger, 29, was a former PhD student in criminology at nearby Washington State University.

Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were all found fatally stabbed in their off-campus rental on Nov. 13, 2022.

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Family members of the victims have expressed their frustration with the delays in the criminal proceedings.

“This banter has been going on for 17 months. Then once you get a hearing, you have a hearing about the decision that was made at that hearing before the last hearing and there needs to be another hearing,” the Goncalves family said in a statement on May 2. “This case is turning into a hamster wheel of motions, hearings, and delayed decisions. Not every motion needs a hearing.”