Idaho Court Gives Kohberger Defense Team Alibi Ultimatum

The legal team of accused Idaho quadruple murderer Bryan Kohberger this week received an ultimatum from an Idaho district court: produce their client’s alibi before his trial in October, or lose the right to use one in his defense.

The Daily Mail reported Thursday that the district court filed a motion to force Kohberger, 28, to provide his excuse for not being in Moscow, Idaho on Nov. 13, 2022, when four students — Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20 — were fatally stabbed inside a rental house near the University of Idaho campus.

Kohberger, who was then a doctoral candidate at Washington State University, is charged with four counts of murder and one count of burglary in connection with the four murders. He was arrested Dec. 30 in Pennsylvania’s Monroe County.

His trial is currently set for Oct. 2. Prosecutors said in June that they would seek the death penalty.

The state filed its motion after the alleged suspect’s defense team declined to submit an alibi to the Idaho county court by an imposed Monday deadline, the Daily Mail reported. Monday was already an extension of an initial May deadline, granted to Kohberger’s team after they appealed on the grounds that they didn’t have enough time to review the Latah County prosecutor’s evidence.

According to Idaho law, defendants are required to submit an alibi defense to the court within 10 days of a written demand from the prosecution.

On Monday, Kohberger’s attorney, Anne Taylor, filed notice that her client would invoke his constitutional right to silence and would not submit an alibi defense.

“Mr. Kohberger’s defense team continues investigating and preparaing [sic] his case,” Taylor’s notice stated, adding, “Evidence corroborating Mr. Kohberger being at a location other than the King Road address will be disclosed pursuant to discovery and evidentiary rules as well as statutory requirements.”

According to the Daily Mail, the notice also suggested that the defense team may have additional evidence that has not yet been provided to the court.

“‘It is anticipated this evidence may be offered by way of cross-examination of witnesses produced by the State as well as calling expert witnesses,” Taylor wrote.

Following that, lawyers filed a motion seeking to have Kohberger’s indictment dismissed. According to an NBC News report Friday, the filing argued that the grand jury was “misled as to the standard of proof required for an indictment, and that the “failure to properly instruct a Grand Jury as to the standard of proof is grounds for dismissal of the Indictment.”

In an effort to challenge the jury selection process, Kohberger’s team also filed a request to halt proceedings without waiving their client’s right to a speedy trial.

On Thursday, the district court filed its motion demanding that Kohberger provide his alibi, including the times and addresses of his whereabouts, as well as any names and details that can corroborate his story. Failure to do so could result in his team forfeiting the right to use one in Kohberger’s defense.