According to a late-day legal filing from Bryan Kohberger’s defense, the graduate student accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022 was out for an early morning drive when the crimes allegedly occurred.
“Mr. Kohberger was out driving in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022; as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars,” .
The petition goes on to say, “He drove throughout the area south of Pullman, Washington, west of Moscow, Idaho, including Wawawai Park.”
According to the document, the defense intends to consult with a specialist in cell tower data in order to verify the position of the 29-year-old during the killings.
In their motion, the defense also hinted that “critical exculpatory evidence” and “additional information” regarding Mr. Kohberger’s whereabouts would be forthcoming.
Mr. Kohberger is charged with the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, four University of Idaho students who were residing in an off-campus residence.
He is charged of entering an off-campus residence on King Road in Moscow early on November 13, 2022, and fatally stabbing four students with a big, military-style knife.
Along with the three women who resided on the property were two additional female housemates who were home during the massacre but managed to survive.
According to the criminal affidavit, Dylan Mortensen, one of the survivors, confronted the masked murderer as he was leaving the house after the killings. The offender was bushy-browned and clothed in all black.
When Mr. Kohberger refused to submit a plea in May 2023, the judge noted that he was pleading not guilty.
Additionally, according to a prior August filing, Mr. Kohberger was going for a drive at the time of the killings. Less information was included in that paper, though, which said that the student was “not claiming to be at a specific location at a specific time.”
The document he filed on Wednesday arrived just before the deadline for submitting more supporting documentation for his alibi defense. The most recent development in the well-known trial relates to the revised alibi defense allegations.
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Discovery requests were put under seal earlier this month, per Mr. Kohberger’s defense, because “the documents contain facts or statements that might threaten or endanger the life or safety of individuals.”
Idaho plans to prosecute Mr. Kohberger with the death sentence.
A portion of the evidence against the alleged murderer was detailed in an affidavit that was made public in January of last year. This evidence included cellphone activity, security footage, and his DNA found on a knife sheath left at the crime scene.
The sheath, which belonged to a military or Ka-Bar style knife, was discovered partially buried beneath Mogen’s body when she and Goncalves were discovered stabbing repeatedly on Mogen’s bed on the home’s third floor.
The suspected murderer’s DNA was then discovered to match the button clasp of the sheath. He is 28 years old. The court document states that the FBI attempted to locate the DNA source by searching genetic genealogy databases.
The criminal document states that garbage was then gathered from the Poconos Mountains home of the suspect’s parents and that a family match was made to the sheath, originating from Mr. Kohberger’s father.
Prosecutors claim that when Mr. Kohberger was taken into custody on December 30, DNA samples taken from the suspect were found to be “a statistical match.”
