Prosecutors within the case of a person charged within the killings of 4 College of Idaho college students are searching for to make use of as proof a school paper he wrote that exhibits his data of crime scenes, in line with a court docket submitting this week
Bryan Kohberger, 30, is accused within the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental dwelling close to campus in Moscow, Idaho. Autopsies confirmed the 4 had been all seemingly asleep once they had been attacked, some had defensive wounds and every was stabbed a number of instances.
Kohberger has been charged with 4 counts of homicide within the Nov. 13, 2022, stabbings. Prosecutors intend to hunt the loss of life penalty if he’s convicted.
Kohberger’s trial is scheduled to start Aug. 11. When requested to enter a plea final 12 months, Kohberger stood silent, prompting the decide to enter a not responsible plea on his behalf.
In a court docket submitting Monday, prosecutors stated the paper Kohberger wrote in 2020 whereas he was a pupil at DeSales College in Pennsylvania “would be introduced to show Defendant’s knowledge of crime scenes.”
The 12-page paper, entitled “Crime-scene Scenario Final,” makes use of the instance of the killing of a lady through which a knife was apparently used.
The paper discusses the various steps authorities ought to take to safe and examine a criminal offense scene, together with conserving folks away to keep away from contamination, acquiring a search warrant, and calling a supervisor, a coroner and forensic providers.
The paper additionally particulars the gear used for crime scene investigation, tips on how to acquire proof, and tips on how to enter a criminal offense scene to keep away from contamination, together with sporting gloves and different protecting gear.
“Anything that is fiber-free and covers the mouth, hair and overall body would be helpful in avoiding crime-scene contamination,” the paper stated.
Kohberger, then a prison justice graduate pupil at Washington State College, was arrested in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings. Investigators stated they matched his DNA to genetic materials recovered from a knife sheath discovered on the crime scene.
The faculty paper additionally describes tips on how to protect the chain of custody for proof. It discusses the significance of gathering surveillance footage and questioning potential witnesses as a part of the investigation.
“Anyone who normally passes by the scene, such as a mailman, should be questioned and an alibi established,” the paper stated. “Where were the neighbors when this happened? Their alibis should be evident and supported.”
The killings shook Moscow, a small farming group of about 25,000 people who hadn’t had a murder in about 5 years. The trial was moved from rural northern Idaho to Boise after the protection expressed issues that Kohberger couldn’t get a good trial within the county the place the killings occurred.
Decide Steven Hippler has scheduled a listening to for April 9 to contemplate pretrial motions. Amongst these to be determined are arguments over whether or not an autism spectrum dysfunction prognosis would preclude Kohberger from being eligible for the loss of life penalty if convicted, and over whether or not jurors ought to hear audio of a 911 name made by two ladies in the home roughly eight hours after the killings, as they realized one in every of their roommates wasn’t waking up.
The court docket has issued a gag order for everybody concerned within the trial and gained’t enable cameras within the courtroom.
