"Many of the incriminating details widely reported in the media are in dispute, including the claim that Kohberger’s vehicle was placed near the crime scene by video footage and cell tower data," jury consultant Bryan Edelman says in a memorandum.
Bryan Kohberger and his defense team are disputing two key pieces of evidence from the probable cause affidavit filed by police in his murder case.
In a 319-page memorandum in support of venue change filed in Lattah County Court last week, a jury consultant hired by Kohberger's public defender Anne Taylor says that the defense will challenge the evidence that police claim places Kohberger at the scene of the murders.
Kohberger, 29, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and could face the death penalty if found guilty of those charges. He has plead not guilty to all charges.
Bryan Edelman, the jury consultant brought on by Taylor, writes that media coverage reporting the claim by police in the probable cause affidavit that there is evidence of Kohbeger being near the scene of the murders is one of the reasons why a change of venue is needed in the case.
"These findings are particularly concerning given that these media items—which came from the probable cause affidavit released to the media—were significantly related to prejudgment. This puts the defendant at a distinct disadvantage at the start of trial. Many of the incriminating details widely reported are in dispute including the claim that Kohberger’s vehicle was placed near the crime scene by video footage and cell tower data.," Edelman says.
Edelman says that "after these details were mentioned repeatedly in the coverage for over 16 months, the prosecution stated during a hearing that several of them were false or potentially inadmissible." and that as a result of this "the burden of proof has shifted to the defendant."
He then adds: "Kohberger must change jurors’ preexisting opinions regarding the evidence against him which have developed from extensive exposure to biased media coverage."
The memorandum is the culmination of a controversial survey conducted by the defense in Lattah and some of its surrounding counties in Idaho.
This same survey was the focus of an emergency hearing back in April after prosecutors filed a motion arguing that the questions being asked to potential jurors violated the nondissemination order in the case.
Prosecutors specifically objected to two of the questions respondents were asked in the survey, including whether or not they believed Kohberger had stalked the four individuals found dead in their Moscow home back in November 2022 – Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.
The other question causing concern was when those polled were asked if they had heard that Kohberger followed any of the victims on social media, according to the motion filed by prosecutors.
It is not the question that violated the order, according to prosecutors, but rather when the individuals asking the question allegedly informed respondents that no evidence existed to support claims that Kohberger surveilled his alleged victims' off-campus home in Moscow or followed any of the four on social media.
Prosecutor Bill Thompson went after Edelman for his decision to include the stalking question while questioning him in court back in April, saying the claim was false and then adding: "Your surveyors put this false information into the minds of the people who were asked this question, and who may not have previously heard it.”
Edelman said that because this claim came from media reports, he did not believe this information violated the non-dissemination order.
“My focus is to assess whether or not media coverage is prejudicial, and whether or not it has led to opinions,” Edelman said in response to Thompson's question. “It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not.”
Those surveyed were also asked if they had read, seen or heard the following:
- Bryan Kohberger said that he was out driving alone on the night of the murders.
- DNA found on the knife sheath was later matched to Bryan Kohberger.
- University students in Moscow and their parents lived in fear until Bryan Kohberger was arrested for the murders.
- Police found a knife sheath on the bed next to one of the victims.
- Bryan Kohberger owns the same type of car recorded on video driving in the neighborhood where the killings occurred.
- Cell phone tower data show that Bryan Kohberger made several trips near the victims’ home in the months before the killings.
The survey then takes those who have heard, read or seen these stories and asks if they believe Kohberger is guilty as well as if they believe he would have a hard time convincing them he was not guilty.
Those who have heard or read the allegedly false claim that Kohbeger stalked his victims were the most likely to believe he was guilty (81%) as well as the most likely to believe he would have a hard time convincing others he is not guilty (62%), according to the survey.
The judge ultimately sided with Taylor back in April and allowed the defense to continue the survey in additional areas including Ada County, where Taylor is now asking the judge to move the trial in her memorandum
In addition to her argument that it is not possible to get an impartial jury in Lattah County, Taylor says that Ada County is also a better choice because it has a larger court facility with more security, two things which she says are necessary given the national fascination with her client's case.
That county is home to the state capitol of Boise, and recently hosted two high-profile murder trials when both Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell were tried in the county courthouse.
Kohberger is set to stand trial in June 2025 regardless of the county.
Various media outlets reported in the weeks after his arrest back in January 2023 that Kohberger had stalked one or more of the victims, each citing unnamed sources.
Inside Edition Digital could not confirm that Kohberger stalked any of the four victims in the Idaho murders case or find evidence that he followed any of the four on social media.
The case has been in the national spotlight since Nov. 13, 2022, when the four students were massacred at their home in the middle of the night.
Authorities arrested Washington State University doctoral candidate Kohberger two months later at his parents' home in rural Pennsylvania.
Soon after his arrest, a judge signed a non-dissemination order in the case, barring any member of law enforcement or lawyer involved in the case from speaking to the media ahead of the trial.
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