Bryan Kohberger’s attorneys claim that their client was out for a drive on the night that four University of Idaho students were killed at an off-campus house in November, according to new court documents filed Thursday.
Kohberger, 28, is the sole suspect in the quadruple killing of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. Prosecutors allege that the suspect broke into the students’ house in the early morning hours of November 13 and fatally stabbed the victims.
His defense lawyers entered a not guilty plea on his behalf back in May to the four counts of murder and one count of burglary connected to the investigation. At the time of the killings, Kohberger was a Ph.D. criminology student and teaching assistant at Washington State University’s campus.
A trial for the case has been tentatively set to start on October 2.
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The defense team had failed to meet the deadline for an alibi defense earlier this week after prosecutors demanded that Kohberger’s lawyers provide evidence that their client was not at the students’ house on the night of the killing.
But according to the alibi filed in court on Thursday, Kohberger was out for a routine drive on the night before the killing, which he has a “habit” of doing.
“Mr. Kohberger has long had a habit of going for drives alone,” read the document. “Often he would go for drives at night. He did so late on November 12 and into November 13, 2022.”
Kohberger is also “not claiming to be at a specific location at a specific time” because there is not a specific witness who can say exactly where he was hour by hour during that time.
“Mr. Kohberger was out driving alone,” the defense team added. “Corroborating evidence may come from cross-examination of state’s witnesses. Corroborating evidence may come from presentation of defense experts. Mr. Kohberger is aware of and will comply with his continuing duty to disclose information.”
The defense also asked the court to exempt Kohberger from further questioning at this time, adding that he is “prepared to provide further detail in an ex parte hearing with the court,” which is a one-party discussion.
Newsweek emailed the Kootenai County Public Defender’s office for comment Thursday night.
Prosecutors claim that Kohberger’s DNA is a “statistical match” to the DNA found on a knife sheath that was found at the scene of the quadruple murder. Kohberger’s defense team, however, has claimed that no DNA evidence from any of the four victims has been detected at the suspect’s home, work or vehicle.
Neama Rahmani, former federal prosecutor, previously told Newsweek that a lone Kohberger DNA match “poses a problem for the prosecution.”
“You would expect a lot more DNA than a single source at such a gruesome crime scene,” Rahmani said. “The defense will argue that the testing is inaccurate, or the DNA was transferred, and that the DNA of three other men was present at the house.”
