Man charged for Idaho stabbings waives right to speedy trial, hearing set for June
The man charged in the deadly stabbings of four University of Idaho students in November 2022 waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing Thursday morning.
Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old doctoral student at Washington State University, appeared before a judge in Latah County District Court for a status conference hearing Thursday morning.
Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall scheduled a preliminary hearing for June 26 at 9 a.m. The hearing is expected to last for five days. The judge ordered Kohberger to be held without bail.
Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary. He has not entered a plea and is waiting to learn if prosecutors will pursue the death penalty.
The 28-year-old appeared in court wearing an orange t-shirt and pants, and gave the judge short one-word answers when asked if he understood his rights during the roughly five-minute-long hearing.
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Kohberger's attorney, Anne Taylor, told Marshall that Kohberger was willing to waive his right to a speedy preliminary hearing, which would have required that it be held within two weeks. The hearing itself will likely take four or five days, Taylor said.
“He's willing to waive timeliness to allow us time to obtain discovery in the case and be prepared,” Taylor told the judge.
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said he had no objection to waiting until June or even July for the preliminary hearing.
University of Idaho students returned from winter break to start classes on Wednesday, many of them coming together for the first time since news of the attack spread across campus.
If the magistrate judge agrees that there is evidence to justify the charges, the case will be “bound over” into Idaho's 2nd District Court, and a district judge will take over. Then Kohberger will have a chance to enter a plea. If he pleads not guilty, the case will begin working toward a trial. If he pleads guilty, a sentencing hearing will be set.
Thompson has 60 days from the time Kohberger enters a plea to say if he will seek the death penalty.
The Nov. 13 slayings of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin left the rural community in Moscow, Idaho, grief-stricken and afraid, prompting nearly half of the university’s students to leave town for the perceived safety of online courses.
University of Idaho students returned from winter break to start classes on Wednesday, many of them coming together for the first time since news of the attack spread across campus.
