(VitalNews.org) – The former criminology Ph.D. student turned alleged serial killer stayed silent in court on May 22nd during his arraignment, so a judge entered a “not guilty” plea on his behalf.
Bryan Kohberger is accused of breaking into an Idaho home shared by six college students last year and murdering four of them. In the wee hours of November 13th, 2022, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves were stabbed to death with a knife in their Idaho home.
Kernodle, Mogen, and Goncalves were among the roommates who lived in the house; Ethan Chapn was dating Kernodle and was spending the night at the home.
During Kohberger’s May 22nd arraignment, the suspect, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit with a bulletproof vest, remained silent instead of entering a plea. The judge entered a not-guilty plea on Kohberger’s behalf, the standard practice in situations such as this. The suspect’s lawyer asked the judge to set the trial for October 2023.
With Kohberger’s plea in the record, prosecutors now have two months to decide whether to go for the death penalty.
It took police six weeks to arrest Kohberger after the Idaho murders. The judge presiding over the case has put a gag order on the principals involved. Victim Goncalves’ family is contesting the gag order. The Daily Wire has also done so but without success.
Still, some details have been released. A search warrant unsealed earlier in 2023 showed police had found identification cars in Kohberger’s white Hyundai, presumably belonging to some of the slain college students. Police will not confirm this, however, due to the judge’s order against speaking publicly about the case.
In April 2023, retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer spoke to Chris Cuomo of NewsNation, calling the IDs “a smoking license.” She asked why Kohberger would have ID belonging to the murder victims in his car, calling the find “a big deal.”
Investigators have also served more than 60 search warrants on various companies like banks and food delivery services that may have information on Kohberger’s whereabouts during and after the murders.
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