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MOSCOW, Idaho — Bryan Kohberger admits he went on a late drive alone around the time of the Nov. 13 quadruple murders in Moscow, but he anticipates witnesses will corroborate he was not at the King Road crime scene that night.
This information was provided in his attorney’s objection to Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson’s earlier motion to compel an alibi defense.
Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the November stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
Kohberger was supposed to provide an alibi by July 24, which was the deadline Thompson and the defense agreed to.
An alibi defense means there is evidence that Kohberger was somewhere other than the crime scene when the murders were committed.
Thompson stated Kohberger’s attorneys did not specify where he was at the time of the murders. The suspect also did not provide the names and address of witnesses who can support his alibi defense.
Kohberger’s attorney Anne Taylor filed an objection stating this evidence may come out during cross-examination of the state’s witnesses or through expert witness presentation.
Taylor confirmed that Kohberger was out driving late Nov. 12 and into Nov. 13. The four UI students were murdered during the early hours of Nov. 13 in a home on King Road.
Taylor wrote that Kohberger “has long had a habit of going for drives alone.”
" Mr. Kohberger is not claiming to be at a specific location at a specific time; at this time there is not a specific witness to say precisely where Mr. Kohberger was at each moment of the hours between late night November 12, 2022 and early morning November 13, 2022,” Taylor wrote.
Taylor stated Kohberger cannot be more specific about possible witnesses and what they will say. She said the defense has not had the opportunity to develop testimony through cross-examination and witness presentation because there was no preliminary hearing. Instead, Kohberger was indicted by a secret grand jury.
Taylor asked the court to exempt Kohberger from further inquiry. She said her defense team is reviewing evidence as quickly as possible and is continuing to request more information.
“The state continually uses those opportunities to attempt to force a waiver of speedy trial,” Taylor wrote. “That is a decision left to Mr. Kohberger and Mr. Kohberger alone.”
A hearing will be held Aug. 18 to discuss the possibility of a speedy trial, the alibi defense and the defense’s motion to dismiss Kohberger’s indictment.