Idaho prosecutor asks for funding hike to process Bryan Kohberger trial

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An Idaho prosecutor has asked for a large funding increase to help cover the expenses it will cost to put quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger on trial.

The Latah County Prosecutor’s Office asked commissioners to provide $135,000 for trial expenses, a significant increase from the normal $15,000 budget, reported The Lewiston Tribune.

Mr Kohberger has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary for the brutal November stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

He remains in Latah County Jail with his trial expected to take place between 2 October and 12 November.

Mr Kohberger chose to remain silent during his 22 May arraignment hearing and Latah County District Judge John Judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson told the commissioners on Tuesday that trial expenses would include paying for expert witnesses, travel fees for witnesses, exhibit displays and transcripts.

“It’s hard to project exactly what’s going to be involved,” he said. “We know that it’s not going to be cheap.”

Mr Thompson told the officials that he was trying to keep his expenses to a minimum but added that “we need to make sure that we don’t cut corners on anything with regard to making sure this case is handled properly.”

Commissioner Kathie LaFortune told the prosecutor that he should increase his estimate to $150,000 to cover any costs, reported the Tribune.

The county commissioners will adopt the annual budget in September.