Bryan Kohberger's legal team is hoping new DNA evidence will exonerate him in the Idaho college murders.
The 30-year-old, who is a former Washington State University criminology student, was formally charged with the fatal stabbing of four college students on November 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho.
Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were found brutally killed in their off-campus residence while two of their roommates were unharmed.
Following an investigation, Kohberger was arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary.
The suspect pleaded not guilty ahead of his trial, which is set to begin in August in Boise, Idaho.
Kohberger's attorneys revealed in a recent court hearing that DNA from two unidentified men was found at the crime scene, as reported by The Idaho Statesman.
One unknown male’s blood DNA was allegedly discovered on a handrail inside the home, while another man’s DNA was found outside on a glove, Kohberger’s lead defense attorney shared.
These shocking revelations could play a key role in the criminology student’s defense strategy as his August trial approaches.
However, Ada County District Judge Steven Hippler has pushed back against the defense team’s argument during a January hearing - specifically pointing to a leather knife sheath found in the bed of one of the victims, which contained DNA that matched Kohberger’s.
“How does that, even if disclosed, preclude a finding of probable cause when there’s a DNA match between the DNA on the sheath and Mr. Kohberger?” Hippler asked defense attorney Anne Taylor. “Isn’t that probable cause every day and twice on Sunday?”
Taylor, however, contended that the case shouldn’t be viewed in isolation. “If that’s the only thing she’s told, I can see why she’d find probable cause,” she said, referring to the magistrate judge.
“It’s these other things that are withheld that create a context around it. Do we want to have one thing with no context around it when there’s this other context that really matters?” she added.
Criminal defense attorney Edwina Elcox has explained that Kohberger's legal team will most likely use the unidentified DNA to "muddy the waters" and cast uncertainty over the prosecution’s case, per Yahoo.
“That evidence could be any variety of things: It could be something, or it could be a lot of things that are nothing,” Elcox told the outlet. “There's at least something to be made of it, and it's better than having nothing as a defense.”
However, she acknowledged that explaining the knife sheath DNA would be a major challenge for the defense team.
“That's the thing that squarely puts [Kohberger] there,” she said. “The magnitude of that evidence to the state's case is critical and cannot be understated.”
If Kohberger is found guilty of the four murders, he could face the possibility of the death penalty.
