Bryan Kohberger’s murder trial in the Idaho student killings will be moved to Boise

By Joe Sutton and Eric Levenson, CNN
3 minute read
Updated 4:45 PM EDT, Thu September 12, 2024

(CNN — The trial against Bryan Kohberger, the man charged with killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, will be moved to the county surrounding the state capital of Boise, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled Thursday. … District Judge Steve Hippler will take on the case in Ada County, the court said. Kohberger will be transferred “forthwith” to the custody of the Ada County Sheriff, the court ruled.

Ada County is the most populous in the state with about 525,000 residents, more than 10-times larger in population than Latah County, according to the US Census. Latah County, the original slated venue for the trial, is more than 200 miles north of Ada County, with both along Idaho’s western border.

This latest development comes days after the previous judge, John Judge of Latah County, approved the defense’s motion to move Kohberger’s upcoming murder trial due to concerns that the local community in Moscow was prejudiced against him.

“Considering the undisputed evidence presented by the defense, the extreme nature of the news coverage in this case, and the smaller population in Latah County, the defense has met the rather low standard of demonstrating ‘reasonable likelihood’ that prejudicial news coverage will compromise a fair trial in Latah County,” the judge wrote in the order Monday. … The judge also highlighted logistical issues with holding the trial in Latah County, noting there were not enough county sheriff deputies, court clerks or courthouse space to accommodate such a big trial.

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