'It is time': Prosecutors rebuff Bryan Kohberger's request to delay Idaho murder trial

Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman on Jun 10, 2025

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BOISE, Idaho — Prosecutors in the University of Idaho student homicides objected to delaying the summer murder trial for defendant Bryan Kohberger, arguing evidence leaks that likely violated the case’s gag order are negligible.

“It is time to try this case. (The) defendant was arrested in late December of 2022 and was indicted in May of 2023,” lead prosecutor Bill Thompson wrote in a legal brief posted Tuesday. “While the publicity surrounding this trial is a challenge, defendant has not shown — and cannot show — that continuing this trial will make things any easier. It is just as likely that delay will make it harder to seat a jury.”

Kohberger’s defense attorneys asked last month for a postponement of the trial, citing a recent episode of NBC’s “Dateline” that aired in May and revealed previously unreleased details about the defendant and the investigation. They also wrote that they had insufficient time to review all outstanding investigation materials — an argument Judge Steven Hippler dismissed at a prior hearing.

Kohberger, 30, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of four University of Idaho students in November 2022 at an off-campus home in Moscow. The victims were seniors Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21; junior Xana Kernodle, 20; and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20. The three women were roommates who lived in the home, and Chapin stayed the night with Kernodle, his girlfriend.

Attorneys for Kohberger, a former Washington State University graduate student from Pennsylvania, have maintained his innocence over 2 1/2 years of legal proceedings. If a jury finds their client guilty of murder, prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.

The much anticipated trial in Boise is set to begin with jury selection at the end of July, and is expected to last into November. That schedule includes sentencing if Kohberger is convicted.

The parents of Kaylee Goncalves vented frustration over a possible postponement in a post on their dedicated family Facebook page.

“I pray with all my heart that the trial does not get delayed. My head is spinning that it’s even a possibility!” they wrote.

A hearing is scheduled for June 18 for oral arguments on a possible delay of the trial. A closed-door portion will follow for arguments over whether Kohberger’s attorneys can present to the jury a legal defense of an alternative perpetrator.

Last week, Kohberger’s defense subpoenaed five witnesses in Pennsylvania to testify at his upcoming trial. The group includes: Ann Parham, Brandon Andreola, Jesse Harris, Maggie Sanders and Ralph Vecchio. They all must appear for a hearing in eastern Pennsylvania on the matter at the end of the month.

Parham and Sanders have ties to the local public school district Kohberger attended and also later worked part time as a security officer. Parham was a teacher and administrator before she retired in 2022, while Sanders continues to work as a school counselor.

Andreola is a childhood friend of Kohberger’s, and Harris owned a gym where Kohberger kickboxed after school. It is unclear how Vecchio knows Kohberger. He did not respond to a request for comment from the Idaho Statesman.

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