MOSCOW, Idaho (Court TV) — Prosecutors have asked a judge to set a trial date for Bryan Kohberger in the summer of 2024, noting that the University of Idaho would be closed on the proposed date.
Bryan Kohberger, right, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, sits with Anne Taylor, left, one of his attorneys, during a hearing in Latah County District Court, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool)
Kohberger is charged with murder and burglary in the brutal stabbing deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin, who were found murdered in their shared home. The four victims all attended the nearby University of Idaho.
In a motion filed on Thursday, prosecutors have proposed setting the jury trial, expected to run approximately six weeks, for the summer of 2024 “and that the trial dates avoid times when Moscow High School and our area universities are in session.”
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Prosecutors noted that the high school is adjacent to the courthouse and that increased media attention creates safety and parking issues for students and staff at the school.
The motion also asked that the trial day be scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., to allow the jurors “some amount of time to tend to their personal affairs.”
The University of Idaho noted that the prosecution intended to spend a few hours at the crime scene on Thursday. In an email sent to Court TV, the university said that the prosecution declined to detail what they were doing at the house. Members of Kohberger’s defense team visited the site twice in the last week.
The property on King Road where the victims were murdered was given to the University of Idaho following the murders, and the school announced plans to demolish the house. The demolition, which has been opposed by several members of victims’ families, is scheduled to begin on Dec. 28.
