Bryan Kohberger trial live: Judge halts Idaho hearing after defense shows case’s mass exposure on social media
Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger argue his murder trial should be relocated because potential jurors voiced concerns that the public would ‘burn the courthouse down’ if he is acquitted of murder charges
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An Idaho judge abruptly halted Bryan Kohberger’s hearing on Thursday after an expert witness for the defense showed social media posts in the Moscow courtroom.
Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, was back in court as his defense team fights to relocate his murder trial, arguing a “mob mentality” has formed against him in Latah County.
The third defense witness was Brian Edelman, co-founder of California-based jury consultancy Trial Innovations, who was hired to conduct a survey of prospective jurors in Latah County.
During his presentation, Edelman showed a screen recording of him scrolling through the Facebook post results that appeared when he searched “Moscow murders.”
Kohberger is charged with the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, who were stabbed to death in an off-campus student home in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13 2022.
Police said they linked Kohberger to the murders that rocked the college town through DNA found on a knife sheath, cellphone data, an eyewitness account, and his white Hyundai Elantra.
In a motion filed last week, Kohberger’s lawyers surveyed potential jurors in Latah County who said there could be violence in the local area if he is found not guilty.
Potential jurors said “there would likely be a riot” and “they’d burn the courthouse down”. Prosecutors accused Kohberger’s team of using flawed survey data in its requests to move the trial, and argued the victims’ families will be affected if the case is moved.
Kohberger is set to stand trial in June 2025.
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Defense witness: Finding a jury not tainted by media coverage is ‘impossible'
Amani El-Alayli, a social psychology professor at Eastern Washington University, told the court that finding potential jurors in Latah County who had not been tainted by media coverage would be virtually impossible.
“I think it would be so hard to be a member of that community and be able to come in and be objective – arguably impossible. We don’t have a known method for undoing things,” she said.
The defense witness also said that people in small communities are more likely to be influenced by statements from people in authority, referring to when the police chief publicly stated that he was certain they had captured Kohberger.
What happened when live feed was cut
When court returned from lunch break, there was a 10-minute portion that was not livestreamed.
During this time, the defense expert was allowed to show the social media posts that prompted the judge to pause the hearing before lunch.
Edelman claimed the posts show bias and conspiracies, including a clip of Nancy Grace, as he argued his point that selecting from a jury pool in Moscow would not give Kohberger a fair trial.
Judge abruptly halts hearing
Judge John Judge abruptly halted the hearing after expert witness for the defense Brian Edelman showed social media posts in court.
Edelman is the co-founder of California-based jury consultancy Trial Innovations, who was hired to conduct a survey of prospective jurors in Latah County.
During his presentation, Edelman showed a screen recording of him scrolling through the Facebook post results that appeared when he searched “Moscow murders.”
Court is back in session
Kohberger’s hearing has resumed its afternoon session.
Watch live on Judge John Judge’s YouTube page:
County commissioners approve $150K boost to Kohberger trial expense budget
The county’s Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved boosting Latah County District Court’s trial expense budget to $150,000 for fiscal year 2025 -- more than 40 times their 2024 budget of $3,500, according to ABC News.
Officials have said the county requires a cash infusion because the high-profile trial will cost taxpayers a lot of money.
Court on lunch break
Court is on lunch break until 1:30pm local time/4:30pm EST.
When court resumes, the livestream will start up 10 minutes later due to a portion of the proceedings that Judge Judge says will not be for the public.
Prosecutors say moving trial to Ada County would be expensive and disruptive for victims’ families
Prosecutors say moving Bryan Kohberger’s June trial to Ada County would be expensive and that it would be disruptive for the victims’ families.
They also argued that just because there has been extensive coverage of the murders doesn’t mean an unbiased jury can’t be seated in Latah County.
Latah County has had more coverage of Kohberger’s case over other counties
In Murphy’s testimony, he displayed graphs and charts that showed how often people in both Latah County and Ada County would have been exposed to media coverage of Kohberger’s case.
As expected, Latah County, where the murders took place, has had more coverage of the case.
The county’s coverage has been steady while it has declined elsewhere.
Defense calls second witness
Court is back in session after a mid-morning break.
The defense calls its second witness to testify – a professor by the name of Dr. El-Alayli.