ID - 4 Univ of Idaho Students Murdered - Bryan Kohberger Arrested - Moscow # 70

[Zella]

I do try to keep an open mind about these things.

Yes that's certainly fair enough. I do suspect if he had seen her, though, there would have been 5 victims and only 1 surviving roommate. MOO

 

[meatandcookies]

A murder weapon is quite different from the corpse of a loved one. I can imagine family members deciding, "We can do without finding the knife, if means the killer gets the d.p."

It’s not about having the murder weapon. Presumably only BK knows what happened to that knife; if he can accurately tell LE where it is, the families can rest knowing the right guy is locked up forever. MOO

 

[Sundog]

MOO it’s very specific.

Thrre is a mystery person behind a curtain, describe that person, the task is to describe their:

Gender
Height
Body build
Notable facial feature if visible

MOO
She was right on each count.

I think the defense will be interested in how DM arrived at her descriptions. Were they spontaneous? Or were there leading questions asked by LE who interviewed her, thus helping her to determine the categories, for example with regard to body build. Did they show her any pictures or give her any information to help her with her descriptions? In Attorney Taylor's Discovery Request to the prosecution she requested disclosure of the identification process of any defendant that was being considered in the case.

Attorney Taylor's Discovery Request, January 10, 2023

13. Identification. Disclosure of whether a defendant, or any other person, was identified by lineup, show up, photo spread or similar identification proceeding relating to the offense charged, and production of any pictures utilized or resulting therefrom and the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all identifying witnesses.

https://www.insideedition.com/sites/default/files/inline-files/011023%20Request%20for%20Discovery.pdf

BBM

 

[Moriarty]

So you wouldn't anticipate the defense questioning her about her actions following her sighting of the stranger? I have been going over how it would benefit the defense to do that, and to what purpose.

Exactly as you say here...to what purpose? I'm trying to figure out if there is any benefit to the defense to question DM about her actions after the sighting. Does it contribute in any way to reasonably doubt the defendant's role in the murders...not that I can see. Does it change anything about the State's theory of the crime and its timeline...not really.

Questioning DM too vigorously could have potential negative consequences for the defense though. She's a young, frightened, possibly underage person who may/may not have been drinking or more (not sure of her age at the time of the murders) in a student house where people come and go. Jurors are supposed to stay objective, but we all know that they don't. If I was a defense attorney, I would likely ask a couple of short questions along the lines of, "Were you frightened? Was it dark?" and leave it to summation to explain that DM was frightened and possibly unsure of what she saw.

IMO defense is better off spending much more time attacking the solidity of the evidence (DNA on clasp of sheath, cell tower pings, certainty of white car seen in the vicinity is BK's car, etc.).

 

[Nila Aella]

I think this is subjective as I noted above. I don't see his eyebrows as bushy but jMO. imo his most distinctive feature is his imo hawklike nose and forehead ridge. I think different people see different things, and the eyebrow description may not be an easy sell. IDK, I don't see it.

IMO his blue eyes are also a distinctive feature.

 

[Bogbacal2]

Assuming that this was BK first time killing, I wonder if this would have unleashed something inside him, similar to serial killers where he felt compelled to continue killing or, was it too much and been his demise?

 

[CGray123]

Is this the aim of BK's request for the drug test results? To discredit DM?

Bryan Kohberger Files Request Seeking Results of All Drug Tests Conducted During Idaho Murder Investigation

Bryan Kohberger wants all drug tests as well as "types of testing performed in this case, testing procedures, reagents and/or solvents used in testing, comparative analyses performed, and number of experiments performed in each test."

www.insideedition.com

The defense would love to discredit DM's description of the person she saw leaving the King Street house on the morning of the murders. If she was drug/alcohol tested, and the results show that she was severely intoxicated, defense counsel could use that information to suggest that her ability to perceive and to remember was adversely affected.

But unless she admitted intoxication with an illegal substance in her initial interview, there would be no reason to force her to submit to testing. If she admitted to investigators that she was intoxicated with alcohol, the defense could use that of course, but if she is of age there's nothing illegal about that and without a high, tested BAC level the effectiveness of the issue would be marginal IMO.

I guess the defense could quibble about the definition of "bushy eyebrows" but with BK sitting in front of her, DM could respond, "I'm not sure what exact words I used to describe the face I saw to the investigator, but the eyebrows of the person I saw were a prominent feature of the face. In fact, your client's eyebrows are exactly what I would describe as prominent or 'bushy'." Not a tactic a smart defense attorney like AT would take IMO.

 

[Dre]

Just a few random musings after having read the last 2000 posts-

—As long as BK knows AT’s past clients and signs a waiver, he cannot appeal based off of that fact. It’s not a terrible conflict as far as I can tell, and if he’s okay with it, the only conflict is the ethical one (not legal) of poor CN feeling betrayal on top of loss, I cannot imagine what she’s going through in totality

—I think it’s possible he laid out sheets in the trunk and between 4:17am-4:20am he peeled off his mask, gloves, coveralls and rolled them plus his knife into the sheets

—the lengthy and detailed list of requested data freaks me out like he thinks he can get out of this and perhaps he fancies himself to be more of a partner than a defendant..

-his brow line is certainly on the heftier side, makes him seem more menacing to me, not surprised she noticed or mentioned it.

All I’ve got for now, jmoo !

 

[Sundog]

Idaho murders: BTK serial killer on solitary confinement and Bryan Kohberger, 'I know how he feels'

The BTK serial killer says he can relate to Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger's time behind bars awaiting court proceedings: It's "very lonely."

www.foxnews.com

"Although criminology students commonly send messages to Rader, the inmate told Fox News Digital that the Idaho stabbings suspect never tried to reach out to him."

Edited to add quote from MSM article

 

[Twistinginthewind]

But do we really know she did not recognize the intruder? <snipped for focus>

The PCA says (BBM for focus):

"D.M. did not state that she recognized the male. This leads investigators to believe that the murderer left the scene."

Read Bryan Kohberger affidavit: Details on police evidence in Idaho murders

 

[WingsOverTX]

Idaho murders: BTK serial killer on solitary confinement and Bryan Kohberger, 'I know how he feels'

The BTK serial killer says he can relate to Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger's time behind bars awaiting court proceedings: It's "very lonely."

www.foxnews.com

"Although criminology students commonly send messages to Rader, the inmate told Fox News Digital that the Idaho stabbings suspect never tried to reach out to him."

Edited to add quote from MSM article

BK didn't need to, he had Ramsland & her insider knowledge of BTK. I wonder what she thinks about her pupil now?

JMO

 

[crumbcleaner]

It’s not about having the murder weapon. Presumably only BK knows what happened to that knife; if he can accurately tell LE where it is, the families can rest knowing the right guy is locked up forever. MOO

This is what I was trying to say in my reply to OP. Thank you!

 

[CGray123]

BK didn't need to, he had Ramsland & her insider knowledge of BTK. I wonder what she thinks about her pupil now?

JMO

She isn't saying. She's a highly respected professional who doesn't need 5 minutes of fame like most of the pundits and pontificators about this case do.

 

[Dotta]

She isn't saying. She's a highly respected professional who doesn't need 5 minutes of fame like most of the pundits and pontificators about this case do.

Hmm
What exactly can she say?
That she didn't see any red flags?

 

[Down To Earth]

IMO DM's description of the person she saw is widely vague BUT at the same time a decent piece of circumstantial evidence at the very least. She didn't say it was a 5'2" female, or a 6'8" elderly Asian man, or a set of conjoined triplets attached at the hips. She saw a single man with the very basics of Kohberger's build.

I'm also a little bit curious about the mask she witnessed the suspect wearing. It's quoted in the PCA as "a mask that covered the person's mouth and nose". That certainly doesn't exclude very many types of masks, but that may not be the only description of the mask she provided to LE. For all we know, which is nothing, she could have told LE that the mask is a fabric Covid mask that is blue with black polka dots and has yellow bands that attach the mask over the wearer's ears and she recognized the mask immediately because she's seen it for sale at Target. That's a complete hypothetical but what I'm getting at is there's a possibility, especially if the mask was a Covid-type, that a description of the mask has at least a possibility to further tie Kohberger to the crime. Covid masks were required in many public places over the last few years. Kohberger's classmates would likely be able to describe at least a "type" of mask he may have frequently worn, and perhaps he even always wore the same one (disposable or washable). Again, if DM described that same mask that Kohberger's classmates could describe, that's more circumstantial evidence with ascending or descending importance based on "uniqueness" of the description.

Just MO but it seems likely that the mask would be a Covid-type because that's the least likely of all masks to draw attention anywhere, even while driving in the car. But of course it could be a Donald Trump or a Baby Yoda Halloween mask for all we know. But again, a distinct Halloween mask would offer yet another chance to tie Kohberger via description if he ever wore it anywhere previously on Halloween...

 

[acutename]

Idaho murders: BTK serial killer on solitary confinement and Bryan Kohberger, 'I know how he feels'

The BTK serial killer says he can relate to Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger's time behind bars awaiting court proceedings: It's "very lonely."

www.foxnews.com

"Although criminology students commonly send messages to Rader, the inmate told Fox News Digital that the Idaho stabbings suspect never tried to reach out to him."

Edited to add quote from MSM article

Is there some kind of log of his received mail because- does he really know? remember everything?

 

[acutename]

Hmm
What exactly can she say?
That she didn't see any red flags?

Can LE interview her? Not sure the defense would want her to say that BK was "smart" IMO.

 

[wary]

BBM

I remember such posts and they confused me. I thought trial practice rules dictate that you cannot impeach your own witness. If that’s true, then the defense cannot call her as a witness only to try and impeach or contradict everything she has already expressed to LE.

I am not a lawyer. Will the lawyers here weigh in on this?

I’m not a lawyer, but I completely agree! I’ve been trying to get an actual lawyer to weigh in, because the concept of calling her as a defense witness makes absolutely no sense to me!

If the prosecution calls her, the defense can cross-examine her.

If the defense were to call her, they couldn’t cross-examine her, couldn’t impeach her. Then the prosecution, per its right to cross-examine her, could perhaps ask her soothing leading questions....?

Actually, couldn’t the defense calling her at all be challenged? They might have to say what they wanted to prove by her? And since her story wouldn’t be part of the trial already, what COULD the defense prove by her? That she’d seen someone whose looks were consistent with the defendant? Why on earth would they want to show that?

 

[Sundog]

She isn't saying. She's a highly respected professional who doesn't need 5 minutes of fame like most of the pundits and pontificators about this case do.

Or she doesn't want anyone poking around . . .

 

[WingsOverTX]

Hmm
What exactly can she say?
That she didn't see any red flags?

Who is Katherine Ramsland? Serial killer expert who taught Bryan Kohberger

Ramsland is a professor at DeSales University in Pennsylvania and reportedly taught the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students.

www.newsweek.com

At the university, Kohberger was reportedly taught by Ramsland, a forensic psychologist who has spent decades studying serial killers.

She has not made any public comments since Kohberger's arrest. "I'm making no media statements at this time," she told Newsweek on Monday.

Ramsland, Ph.D., is a professor and assistant provost at DeSales University. She came to the university "specifically to teach forensic psychology, focusing on her field of expertise—extreme offenders," according to her biography on the university's website.
....
Ramsland holds a master's degree in forensic psychology from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a master's in clinical psychology from Duquesne University, a master's in criminal justice from DeSales University, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Rutgers University, according to her biography on the Psychology Today website.

She writes the "Shadow Boxing" blog for the website, which is described as one that "probe the mind's dark secrets."

I must check out her blog....