Bryan Kohberger stands accused of the brutal murders of four university students. However, new evidence has revealed shocking DNA evidence which could really help his defense in the upcoming trial.
The brutal slaying of the four students in Moscow, Idaho, occurred way back in November 2022. The mystery that ensued brought out every armchair detective on TikTok and they all had their own theories. After weeks of investigation Kohberger was arrested by police and charged with the murders after his DNA was found on the sheath of a knife at the murder scene. This gave police probable cause, and it’s admittedly a pretty solid piece of evidence. But there’s more to the story.
Kohberger was due to stand trial way back in October 2023, but his defense attorney, Anne Taylor, has sought numerous extensions and many defense strategies, now it’s expected he will appear in court in August of this year. If found guilty he could face the death penalty, however, Taylor is confident that new DNA evidence will provide enough reasonable doubt to get him off the hook.
What is the evidence?
The DNA of two unknown males were discovered in the house, and male DNA was also found on a glove outside the house. According to an article from the Idaho Statesman, these samples were not run through CODIS, the FBI’s national DNA database as they were apparently not eligible. Last month’s public court hearing revealed that the two samples in the house came from blood while the third male DNA sample is unclear.
The issue is that none of this was disclosed to the judge back in December 2022 when the warrant was initially sought for Kohberger’s arrest. Taylor argues that the decision effectively amounted to an omission of evidence that could affect the judge’s decision when deciding probable cause. The question is whether or not there’s enough reasonable doubt to allow Kohberger to avoid being prosecuted.
Could this new evidence really exonerate Bryan Kohberger?
Kohberger’s legal team is challenging the search warrants and the evidence found with them in a Franks hearing, which is essentially a hearing that challenges the validity of search warrant affidavits. It essentially aims to find out if an officer lied in order to obtain the search warrant. Taylor argues that the omitted evidence proves Kohberger’s claims of innocence stating that the additional context throws doubt over the probable cause.
“It’s these other things that are withheld that create a context around it. … Do we want to have one thing with no context around it when there’s this other context that really matters?”
Of course, it’s hard to argue with the evidence that seems to directly connect Kohberger to the crime. Ada County District Judge, Steven Hippler claims that the new evidence changes nothing, “How does that, even if disclosed, preclude a finding of probable cause when there’s a DNA match between the DNA on the sheath and Mr. Kohberger?”
Kohberger’s attorney’s have also claimed that none of what was seized during the police searches actually connect him to the location where the crime took place. However, Hippler argues that none of this absolves Kohberger but it might suggest that there are more suspects who need to be investigated.
