Topline
Bryan Kohberger—the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in November—returns to court for his second hearing Thursday, a week after he was extradited back to Idaho and denied bail.
Bryan Kohberger returns to court Thursday.
Key Facts
Kohberger will attend a status conference—a court-ordered meeting where a date for the trial is set—at 11 a.m. Thursday, which would allow Kohberger to enter a plea.
Latah County Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall denied a request from Kohberger’s lawyer Anne Taylor to set bail in the case, as Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.
If convicted, Kohberger faces a maximum sentence of life in prison or the death penalty.
What To Watch For
Kohberger did not enter a plea during his initial hearing on January 5, though Michael Mancuso, a district attorney in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, said he believed Kohberger wanted to wait until a probable cause affidavit was released—which became public just before the first hearing.
What We Don’t Know
It is still unknown why the two surviving roommates, identified in the affidavit as B.F. and D.M.—who heard crying and interacted with the suspect—did not call 911 until around noon. Police have said they do not believe either was involved in the murders.
Key Background
Kohberger was arrested on December 30 for the murders of Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kayle Goncalves, 21, who were found stabbed to death inside their apartment in Moscow, Idaho, in November. Kohberger, a Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University, was linked to the case after his DNA matched a single source of male DNA uncovered on a tan leather knife sheath found at the scene of the crime. He was also linked to a white Hyundai Elantra that was seen on security cameras driving near where the murders occurred, which police say Kohberger later drove alongside his father to his parents’ home in Pennsylvania in mid-December.
Further Reading
University of Idaho Murder Suspect Denied Bail As State Released Evidence On Killings (Forbes)
