Bryan Kohberger’s lawyers have submitted a new alibi filing claiming that cell phone data will show he was miles away from Moscow, Idaho the night four college students were murdered in an off-campus house. The court filing states that Kohberger was driving in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, in areas south of Pullman, Washington and west of Moscow, Idaho, including Wawawai Park, which is a 40-minute drive from the murder scene. Kohberger is accused of fatally stabbing the University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, and Madison Mogen in the rental house near the Moscow campus.
An expert witness in cell phone data is expected to testify that Kohberger’s mobile device was south of Pullman, Washington and west of Moscow, Idaho on the night of the murders. The defense claims that Kohberger’s phone did not travel east on the Moscow-Pullman Highway, contradicting the prosecution’s claim that Kohberger’s white Hyundai Elantra was the car captured on video near the students’ home on the morning of the murders. The defense team asserts that they have more details regarding Kohberger’s whereabouts that night but are withholding the information until the state shares more discovery.
Kohberger allegedly broke into the off-campus house around 4 a.m. and stabbed the four friends to death. He was a PhD student of criminology at Washington State University in Pullman at the time of the killings. After a seven-week manhunt, he was arrested in Pennsylvania on December 30 following a raid on his family’s home where the white Hyundai Elantra was also recovered. The defense has argued that the indictment against Kohberger lacks sufficient evidence and has attempted to have the case thrown out, but their motions have been denied.
The defense team has been accused of filing numerous motions to delay the trial, with the next motion hearing scheduled for May 14th. During this hearing, the judge will consider the defense’s motion for a change of venue and their motion to compel the discovery of additional information. The defense believes that the cell phone data will provide critical exculpatory evidence corroborating Kohberger’s alibi and is threatening to reveal this evidence if the state does not disclose it. The case has garnered significant attention due to the brutal nature of the murders and the ongoing legal battles between the prosecution and defense teams.
