Idaho
Bryan Kohberger asks Idaho judge to block ‘bushy' brows evidence, suggests witness’s artwork skews memory
Bryan Kohberger’s defense team is asking the judge overseeing his quadruple murder trial to block an eyewitness from testifying about the intruder she saw having “bushy eyebrows” on the night three of her housemates and another friend were killed in a 4 a.m. massacre.
First, the defense argues that allowing the witness, identified in court filings as “DM,” would be unfair, too vague and unfairly prejudicial before the jury. Also in the motion, attorney Elisa Massoth denies that the defendant, Kohberger, has bushy eyebrows.
She is also seeking an order barring any evidence related to “bushy eyebrows” in addition to keeping DM from using the phrase. In separate filings, the defense is also asking the court to limit the use of the words murder, psychopath and sociopath.
The surviving housemate is the only known witness to have encountered the intruder and lived to tell her tale after she froze in shock, and he walked toward a back sliding door – and recently unsealed text messages so she tried in vain to reach her murdered friends minutes after the intruder left.
BRYAN KOHBERGER DOESN’T WANT AMAZON SHOPPING LIST REVEALED AT TRIAL
Brian Kohberger pictured after his transfer to the Ada County jail in Boise, Idaho. (Ada County Sheriff’s Office)
The motion became public after Judge Steven Hippler told defense attorneys and prosecutors they were keeping too many court filings out of public view, filing them under seal without proper justification.
Massoth wrote that DM was unable to describe the masked intruder to a sketch artist and did not know what color eyebrows the intruder had. The texts, at least the exceprts that have been made public, show she discussed the intruder’s mask covering his mouth and forehead. They do not mention his eyebrows.
“Eyewitness identifications are inherently unreliable,” said Edwina Elcox, a Boise-based defense attorney who formerly represented Lori Vallow. “Especially this one – it’s beyond vague.”
IDAHO POLICE RECOVERED A 3-PERSON MIXTURE OF DNA UNDER MADDIE MOGEN’S FINGERNAILS
Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
But what stands out to her in this case is the revelation in court filings that DM had a wall of photos and artwork, some of which she had drawn herself, depicting detailed faces and prominent eyebrows.
Last month, defense attorneys tried to attack the housemate’s credibility, arguing her story changed in the span of three interviews with investigators and that she admitted she had been drinking, felt tired and her memory was hazy.
“There is a beyond strong explanation, when somebody is so unsure about why they may have this distinctive impression of eyebrows – because it’s all over the room,” Elcox told Fox News Digital. “It’s artwork that they’re drawing.”
Read the motion
The defense argued that this artwork could have influenced her memory.
“There is no reliability of the physical characteristics that D.M. has reported,” Massoth wrote. “Mr. Kohberger does not have bushy eyebrows, but the art work on D.M.’s wall and that which she draws eyes with eyebrows could be described as bushy, full, or prominent.”
Hippler previously said the witness’s statements could be “fodder” for cross-examination at trial but had no bearing on the finding of probable cause used to justify Kohberger’s arrest.
Elcox says she expects explosive cross-examination on this issue.
Bryan Christopher Kohberger as he appeared on the Washington State University website. He was studying there for a Ph.D. in criminology at the time of the murders 10 miles away at the University of Idaho. (Washington State University)
“People often accused defense attorneys of just like throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks, like questioning an identification,” she said. “But that is some real meat and potatoes, about how to how to question the reliability of whatever was observed. I can’t imagine a more specific fact.”
The new filing also reveals DM had “lucid dreams of being kidnapped or chased,” she was a consumer of true-crime TV and podcasts.
“I think the judge will allow it on the grounds that DM will be subject to cross-examination and that the unreliability of the identification goes to the weight that the jury will give the description, not the admissibility of it,” Elcox, who has been closely following the case, told Fox News Digital. “But … this identification can absolutely be destroyed on cross-examination.”
Judge Hippler previously said DM’s testimony appeared more useful in establishing a timeline of the slayings than identifying the attacker.
According to a probable cause affidavit, DM overheard someone saying, “There’s someone here” after 4 a.m. She later heard what sounded like crying, and a male voice saying, “It’s OK, I’m going to help you.”
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Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for a hearing at the Latah County Courthouse in Moscow, Idaho, June 27, 2023. (August Frank/Pool via Reuters)
A security camera at the home next door picked up “distorted audio” of what investigators believe were “voices or a whimper followed by a loud thud,” in addition to a dog’s barking at 4:17 a.m.
DM looked out her bedroom door and “saw a figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person’s mouth and nose walking towards her,” according to the affidavit. She described him to police as over 5 feet, 10 inches tall, athletic but not muscular and having bushy eyebrows.
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Bryan Kohberger arrives at the Monroe County Courthouse in Pennsylvania after police arrested him at his parents’ house in Albrightsville in the quadruple homicide in Moscow, Idaho. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
They came face-to-face, and she froze in shock after he passed within three feet of her, according to the new filing.
Minutes later, she called three of the victims – Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20. No one answered. Then she reached out to the other surviving roommate, “BF.”
Although it was believed DM locked her bedroom door and went to sleep after this encounter, the new filing reveals that after a brief exchange of texts with her roommate, BF urged her to “run” downstairs.
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According to other court filings released this week, DM spent the night in BF’s room and an unnamed person called 911 from BF’s phone around noon the next day.
At 10:23 a.m., DM texted both Mogen and Goncalves. “Pls answer,” she wrote. “R u up??” She then called her father around 11:40 a.m., and finally someone called 911 from BF’s phone around noon.
Timeline of Nov. 13, 2022:
- 4:00 AM: Suspect arrives at house
- Between 4 and 4:17: Time of murders
- 4:19: Roommate calls 3 victims, no one answers
- 4:22 to 4:24: Surviving roommates text each other from inside house
- 4:27: Roommate calls victims again, no one answers
- 4:32: Roommate texts Goncalves ‘Pls answer’
- 10:23: Surviving roommate texts victims, no one answers
- 11:39: Roommate calls her father
- 12:00 PM.: 911 call placed from roommate’s phone
Court documents revealed last month that DM also said the intruder may have been carrying a vacuum-like object. She did not recognize him at the time of the attack and did not recognize an unmasked photo of Kohberger after his arrest.
Kohberger, 30, is accused of killing four of the six people inside a home on King Road in Moscow, Idaho, around 4 a.m. Nov. 13, 2022. The fourth victim was Ethan Chapin, 20.
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Brian Kohberger in Latah County court for his Jan. 5, 2023, initial appearance in an Idaho courtroom. (Pool)
Police arrested Kohberger Dec. 30 of that year at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania.
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He faces a first-degree murder charge for each victim and a single felony burglary charge. A judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf to all charges.
The trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 11. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
Idaho
1 dead in U-Haul truck explosion in Idaho parking lot: Officials
Sunday, December 14, 2025 4:44PM
One person is dead after a U-Haul truck appears to have accidentally exploded in a parking lot in Idaho early Saturday, according to officials.
The explosion caused damage within the blast radius including to a Courtyard Marriott and Old Navy, according to the Lewiston Fire Department and City of Lewiston Police Department.
Initial findings indicate the vehicle was transporting stored materials, including flammable items such as gasoline and propane tanks, according to officials.
“At this time, there is no indication the incident is criminal in nature,” Lewiston Fire Marshal Julian Sorrell said in a statement.
There was no fire after the explosion, officials said.
The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
Copyright © 2025 ABC News Internet Ventures.
Idaho
Meridian man killed in U-Haul explosion in Lewiston
BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — The identity of the man killed in an explosion in Lewiston on Saturday morning has been released.
61-year-old Douglas R. Petersen from Meridian, Idaho, was identified by the Nez Perce County Coroner’s office as the victim of an explosion involving propane that was in the cargo box of a U-Haul truck
Idaho
2 Idaho Lottery players will be millionaires in the new year – East Idaho News
BOISE – Two lucky Idaho Lottery players who participated in the 2025 Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle will begin the New Year as Idaho’s newest millionaires!
All 500,000 tickets in the Idaho Lottery’s traditional holiday game, the Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle, have been sold and the game has officially ended. The last ticket was sold Thursday, December 11.
This year’s game was one of the fastest-selling in the 19-year history of the Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle. After last year’s very successful game, the Idaho Lottery continued the game with two top prizes of $1,000,000. They also added a $100,000 prize and a $50,000 prize.
It is the 18th sellout and the 11th time the game has sold out before Christmas.
“We want to remind everyone this game features two, one-million-dollar top prizes. Last year, unfortunately, one of those $1,000,000 prizes was never claimed,” said Andrew Arulanandam, Idaho Lottery Director. “Keep your tickets in a safe place and remember to go online and check them after the drawing.”
The winning numbers will be announced at 5:59 p.m. Mountain Time on Monday, December 29.
“Idaho Raffle tickets are popular holiday gifts. So, this year, two lucky Idahoans could be instant millionaires because of their stocking stuffers!” added Arulanandam.
Players can check their tickets for winning numbers online, at all Idaho Lottery retail locations, on the Idaho Lottery winning numbers hotline at (208) 334-4656, or by using the Idaho Lottery Check-a-Ticket app for their iPhone or Android phone.
Besides the guaranteed top prizes of $1,000,000, there are over 21,500 additional prizes ranging from $15 up to $100,000. This year’s game also featured twenty, $1,000 prizes mid-game for players who purchased one of the 25,000th tickets. There were 15 daily, $1,000 winners during the first 15 days of sales. All players are encouraged to check their tickets for these promotion winners manually by visiting idaholottery.com.
All winning tickets of $1,000 and higher in this game must be claimed at Lottery offices in Boise. Players will have 180 days after the draw announcement on December 29, to claim their prizes.
This year’s Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle generated over $1.7 million for the Idaho Lottery’s beneficiaries, Idaho public schools and buildings.
During this gift giving season, the Idaho Lottery would like to remind everyone to gift Lottery tickets responsibly. You must be 18 years old to buy, sell, or redeem Lottery products in Idaho.
The following is a current list of $1,000 promotional winning tickets that remain unclaimed from this year’s Raffle:
- 035429
- 099040
- 122908
- 149710
- 158289
- 173160
- 192289
- 350000
- 425000
- 450000
- 475000
- 500000
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