Lawyers also said on Thursday that Bryan Kohberger did not follow any of the four victims on social media or surveil their home. He will need to provide the court with his alibi by Wednesday.
Bryan Kohberger did not stalk the four University of Idaho students found murdered in their home off campus, according to lawyers for both the prosecution and the defense.
Those lawyers and Kohberger were in court last week for an emergency hearing after the prosecution filed a motion arguing that a survey of potential jurors being conducted by the defense violated the nondissemination order in the case.
In that survey of Latah County residents, respondents were asked a series of questions, including whether or not they believed Kohberger had stalked four individuals found dead in that home back in November 2022 – Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.
Mr. Kohberger 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.
The Idaho Statesman was the first to report on the details of the survey and last week's court proceedings.
Individuals who answered "yes," when asked about Mr. Kohberger stalking the victims, were then informed that there was no evidence to support this claim, according to prosecutor Bill Thompson.
Both Mr. Thompson and the defense agreed on this point and said as much during the proceedings.
Lawyers also said on Thursday that Mr. Kohbberger did not follow any of the four victims on social media and no evidence existed to support claims that he surveilled their off-campus home in Moscow.
The defense said claims that Mr. Kohberger surveilled the home came not from media sources but from inaccurate details included in the probable cause affidavit.
While lawyers for both sides may have agreed on these facts, that did not stop the hearing from turning contentious at times as Kohberger‘s public defender, Anne Taylor, and Mr. Thompson made their arguments in front of the judge.
The defense hopes to conduct the same survey in neighboring counties but the judge filed an emergency order late last month prohibiting any contact with potential jurors after the prosecution filed its initial motion objecting to the defense's tactics.
Taking the stand to testify during last week's hearing was the jury consultant hired by Ms. Taylor and the defense team to conduct the survey, Bryan Edelman.
Mr. Thompson went after Mr. Edelman for his decision to include the stalking question while questioning him in court, 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.”
Mr. 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,” Mr. Edelman said in response to Mr. Thompson's question. “It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not.”
The defense is conducting these surveys to determine if a non-biased jury pool exists in the county given the coverage and attention the case has received over the past 18 months.
If the judge allows them to continue, they next plan to survey two neighboring counties in the state.
Various media outlets reported that Kohberger stalked one or more of the victims in the weeks after his arrest back in January 2023, 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.
Latah County District Court Judge John Judge said he plans to issue a ruling soon on the matter and pushed back a hearing on whether or not a change of venue will be needed for the trial.
The defense is hoping this survey will convince the judge that Mr. Kohberger cannot get a fair trial in the county.
At the same time, a new deadline looms in the case this week for the defense team as they are required to submit the alibi Mr.Kohbegrer plans to argue at trial by Wednesday.
