MOSCOW, Idaho — A Latah County judge has given the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students permission to continue surveying potential jurors.
Judge John Judge issued an order Friday stating that Bryan Kohberger, 29, and his defense team may continue surveying potential jurors in Latah County as long as the questions asked don't violate the case's gag order. Judge also stated the questions on the survey don't need to be changed before it continues.
The ruling comes just three days after another ruling was published prohibiting the defense from surveying potential jurors. That order stemmed from an April 10 hearing where Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson and Anne Taylor, Kohberger's defense attorney, argued whether the survey violated the ongoing nondissemination order surrounding the case.
The defense was ordered to stop surveying potential jurors on April 4, after the prosecution claimed questions on the survey were too specific about the facts in the case and violated the gag order. Some of the questions included:
- Have you read, seen, or heard if Bryan Kohberger was arrested at his parents' home in Pennsylvania?
- Have you read, seen or heard if police found a knife sheath on the bed next to one of the victims?
- Have you read, seen or heard that DNA found on the knife sheath was later matched to Bryan Kohberger?
- Have you read, seen or heard if Bryan Kohberger owned the same type of car recorded on video driving in the neighborhood where the killings occurred?
Kohberger is charged with the first-degree murders of Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen. The four were found stabbed in a home near the University of Idaho campus on Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger was arrested one month later in Pennsylvania and has been in the Latah County Jail ever since.
Since his arrest, Kohberger has been indicted by a grand jury and chose to stand silent at his arraignment. Last year, the state of Idaho filed intent to seek the death penalty against Kohberger. His trial date has yet to be set.
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