MOSCOW, Idaho — An Idaho district court judge denied a motion to dismiss the grand jury indictment against Moscow murders suspect Bryan Kohberger on Thursday.
Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students last November, and his attorneys had filed the motion on the grounds there was an "error in grand jury instructions."
During the public hearing, the defense argued the indictment should be thrown out because the jury used "probable cause" instead of "beyond a reasonable doubt" when considering whether to indict Kohberger. Prosecutors countered that while the language is vague, the Idaho Supreme Court has already ruled on the matter, and it's a non-issue.
Andrea Burkhart, a Kennewick-based defense attorney, said the defense has identified an inconsistency and is arguing it needs to be resolved in favor of a higher standard.
“It’s an arcane and fairly technical type of legal issue," Burkhart said. "From my perspective as a defense attorney, it’s a very interesting argument but I don’t know that it’s a winnable argument.”
District Judge John C. Judge said the defense's argument was creative, but he was constrained by current law, and the defense would have to bring it to a higher court.
"I think the argument is good, but I can’t go that far, not today," Judge said.
In a previous hearing Thursday morning, Kohberger and his attorneys sought to dismiss the indictment on the grounds of a "biased grand jury, inadmissible evidence, lack of sufficient evidence, and prosecutorial misconduct in withholding exculpatory evidence."
However, those proceedings were closed to the public, and that ruling has not yet been revealed.
The hearings were originally scheduled for last month but were pushed back to Oct. 26.
Kohberger, 28, is accused of murdering Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen in an off-campus home near the University of Idaho on Nov. 13, 2022.
The college town of Moscow, with a population of about 25,000, had not recorded a murder since 2015.
On Dec. 30, 2022, Kohberger was arrested at his family's home in Pennsylvania and has been in the Latah County Jail since the beginning of the year.
At his arraignment, he stood silent, which led the judge to enter five not-guilty pleas on his behalf, which included four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. The state also filed a motion to seek the death penalty against Kohberger in June, with the prosecuting attorney citing his "utter disregard for human life" and a "continuing threat to society."
Kohberger’s DNA was found to be a “statistical match” for the DNA found on the sheath of a knife at the scene of the murders. The weapon itself has not been found.