Latah County Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall has already issued a gag order, telling parties they can't speak about the case outside court.
www.nbcnews.com
1/5/23
MOSCOW, Idaho — A victim's mother wiped away tears on Thursday as
Bryan Christopher Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students, made his
first courtroom appearance in the state.
The handcuffed Kohberger, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, faced Latah County Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall and answered “yes” when she asked if he understood his rights and the charges brought against him.
He's accused of killing Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Arizona; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho, inside a Moscow home on Nov. 13.
The four charges of first-degree murder carry sentences that could include life in prison to the death penalty.
[..]
Kohberger's court appearance prompted the release of previously sealed documents, chronicling the police probe that led investigators to his arrest.
Key
revelations in an affidavit, supporting the arrest and filed by police in Moscow, Idaho, included:
- A woman, who was inside the house where the Nov. 13 murders happened but was not harmed, told police she saw a figure "clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person's mouth and nose" who "walked past" her as she "stood in a 'frozen shock phase.' "
- A knife sheath found near Mogen's body had a "single source of male DNA." That discovery prompted Pennsylvania police to recover "trash from the Kohberger family residence" in Albrightsville, where they allegedly found genetic evidence that linked him to the Moscow murders.
- Police claimed they have video of Kohberger’s Hyundai Elantra near the crime scene when the murders happened on Nov. 13 and evidence that his cell phone was on and allegedly near the Moscow house that early morning.
[..]
Kohberger was ordered held without bail and his next pre-trial hearing was
set for Jan. 12.