Attorneys representing a man charged with murder in connection with the deaths of four University of Idaho students are requesting that a judge dismiss most of the evidence in the case, arguing that it relies on an unconstitutional genetic investigation process.
Bryan Kohberger’s defense team also claims that the search warrants in the case were tainted by police misconduct. They will present their arguments during a two-day hearing beginning Thursday morning, some of which will be closed to the public.
If they succeed, it could significantly hinder the prosecution’s case before the trial, scheduled to start in August.
Kohberger is facing four counts of murder for the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves, who were murdered in the early hours of November 13, 2022, at a rental home near the University of Idaho campus in Moscow.
When asked to enter a plea last year, Kohberger remained silent, prompting the judge to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors have indicated they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.
The defense team contends that law enforcement violated Kohberger’s constitutional rights when they used a technique known as Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) to identify potential suspects.
“There would be no investigation into him without that original constitutional violation,” defense attorneys Jay Weston Logsdon and Ann Taylor argued in a court filing.
They added, “Without IGG, there is no case, no request for his phone records, surveillance of his parents’ home, no DNA taken from the garbage out front. Because the IGG analysis is the origin of this matter, everything in the affidavit should be excised.”
The IGG process is typically used when DNA found at a crime scene does not match any results in standard law enforcement databases.
Investigators then examine the genetic variations, or single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in the DNA sample and upload them to a genealogy database like GEDmatch or FamilyTreeDNA to search for possible relatives of the person whose DNA was found at the scene.
In Kohberger’s case, investigators discovered “touch DNA” on the sheath of a knife found in the home where the students were fatally stabbed. The FBI used IGG to analyze the DNA and identified Kohberger as a possible suspect.
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson and the prosecution team assert that there is nothing unconstitutional about using IGG, noting that Kohberger’s relatives voluntarily submitted their DNA to a genetic genealogy service.
University of Idaho Incident Suspect (Photo: AP)
They also argue in court filings that case law is clear: Defendants do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy for DNA left at a crime scene.
In addition, Kohberger’s defense team argues that after he was identified as a potential suspect, law enforcement either deliberately or recklessly provided false or omitted critical information when requesting search warrants for his apartment, parents’ home, car, cellphone, and even his own DNA. They are asking that all of this evidence be excluded from the trial as well.
Specific details about the alleged police misconduct are being kept from the public, as 4th District Judge Steven Hippler has sealed most of those court filings, as well as documents related to the IGG evidence.
Part of the upcoming hearing will be held behind closed doors because the judge wants to prevent potential jurors from being “tainted” by hearing about evidence that might not be allowed in trial.
On Wednesday, a coalition of news organizations requested that the judge reconsider the decision to keep the proceedings secret.
“In any criminal case, I would submit that it’s of extreme public interest to know whether a law enforcement officer sworn to tell the truth … made reckless or false statements” during an investigation, Wendy Olson, the attorney representing the news organizations, argued during a hearing.
She noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the public and the press’s First Amendment right to open court proceedings, emphasizing that open courts help protect the rights of the accused.
Despite these arguments, the judge remained firm in his decision.
“I don’t think much has changed in terms of the need to protect the jury pool here, given the intense media scrutiny that has and continues to follow this case,” Judge Hippler stated.
“We will be challenged under the best of circumstances in obtaining a jury that has not been overly exposed to this … and in particular, exposed to evidence that may not come into this trial.”
The judge confirmed that the closed portions of the hearing would not be open to the public, but the open segments would be livestreamed on the court’s YouTube channel.
In November, Kaylee Goncalves’ parents, Kristi and Steve Goncalves, publicly stated their belief that the death penalty is justified for the killer. “You’ve got four victims, all in one house – that’s more than enough,” Steve Goncalves remarked.
Kristi Goncalves revealed that she had spoken to the coroner and knows the details of what happened to her daughter. “If he did anything like he did to our daughter to the others, then he deserves to die,” she said.
Steve Goncalves also told “48 Hours” that evidence suggests his daughter awakened during the attack and tried to escape. He explained, “she was trapped” based on how her bed was arranged.
The Goncalves family has expressed frustration over the slow pace of the case’s progress through the judicial system, stating, “This case is turning into a hamster wheel of motions, hearings, and delayed decisions.”
