The latest pretrial developments in the Idaho student killings trial

Here’s a timeline of some of the notable pre-trial hearings and decisions in the quadruple murder trial against Bryan Kohberger.

Prosecutors can continue to pursue the death penalty against Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home in 2022, a judge has ruled. The Idaho judge’s decision to deny defense motions relating to the death penalty is among the latest developments ahead of the trial, which is scheduled to begin in August 2025. It’s been a long and winding road since the four students – Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen – were fatally stabbed in the overnight hours of November 13, 2022, at a home just off the school’s main campus in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger, a Washington State University graduate student in criminology, was arrested in the killings on December 30, 2022, in his home state of Pennsylvania. He was charged with four counts of murder; a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf in May 2023, and his attorneys have indicated the 29-year-old intends to present an alibi as part of his defense. The progression of the case has been slowed by a series of pre-trial motions and hearings that have frustrated the family of one of the victims as well as the judge overseeing the case. The hearings largely fall into a few different buckets. One relates to the defense attorneys’ access to evidence, particularly how the prosecution used investigative genetic genealogy in building the case. A second set of hearings concerns Kohberger’s proposed alibi for his innocence. Third, there have be a number of hearings related to a gag order that restricts what the parties can publicly say about the case.