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Bryan Kohberger's fight against death penalty gets day in court; expert skeptical of defense's arguments
Student murder suspect Bryan Kohberger returnED to court Thursday, where his defense hopes to have the death penalty taken off the table before he goes to trial in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho undergrads.
The defense planned to call two expert witnesses at the hearing — forensic pathologist Dr. Barbara Wolf and University of Idaho law professor Aliza Cover, whose research has examined capital punishment and constitutional law.
Judge Steven Hippler denied both requests, siding with prosecutors who argued that their testimony would be irrelevant under Idaho law. The judge said he had also read an affidavit from Dr. Wolf and an article from Cover that largely summed up the testimony the defense expected.
BRYAN KOHBERGER DEFENSE CALLS IN FAMED EXPERT WHO HELPED O.J. SIMPSON
Bryan Kohberger, left, listens as defense attorney Jay Logsdon, right, presents oral arguments Oct. 26, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (Kai Eiselein-Pool/Getty Images)
Kohberger’s team filed a number of attacks on the possibility of capital punishment last month, challenging it as a potentially cruel or unusual punishment, arguing that it goes against “contemporary standards of decency” and asserting that Idaho’s newly revived firing squad is unconstitutional, among other arguments.
“It appears the defense is laying the groundwork for appeal,” said Matt Mangino, a former Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, district attorney and expert on capital punishment litigation. “Their most recent arguments are for an appellate court not a trial court.”
Those include taking issue with nearly all of the alleged aggravating factors and arguing that the firing squad is unconstitutional. While they’ve had some success, including dropping the aggravator for burglary that prosecutors agreed with, they face an uphill battle, Mangino said.
BRYAN KOHBERGER DEFENSE EYES DEATH PENALTY FINE PRINT
“There has never been a method of execution determined by the Supreme Court to be unconstitutional,” he told Fox News Digital. “Whether someone has been hanged or gassed or electrocuted or shot, the Supreme Court has never said that any method like that, and also lethal injection, is unconstitutional.”
Although Idaho only recently brought back the firing squad as an option, it’s a reliable method that has been used both historically and in modern times, he said.
“There was a pause in the death penalty in the early ’70s, and when the death penalty came back a few years later, the first execution in this country was by firing squad,” he said.
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)
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He even wrote about a firing squad execution in his book, “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010,” which examined every execution carried out in the U.S. that year.
He did find one move by the defense legally interesting, he said. Courts commonly use two-step proceedings, known as “bifurcated trials,” with a guilt phase and a penalty phase for capital cases to prevent the death penalty from being handed down arbitrarily.
Bryan Kohberger is in the custody of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, according to online jail records. (Ada County Sheriff’s Office)
“They’re making an interesting argument that the process should be trifurcated, for lack of a better term,” he told Fox News Digital.
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The defense has essentially proposed three phases, he said — a guilty phase, a new phase to determine the aggravating circumstances and then the penalty phase.
Bryan Christopher Kohberger arrives at the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pa., Jan. 3, 2023, before waiving extradition to Idaho to face murder charges in the stabbing deaths of four university students. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
“That would really sort of turn the whole process on its head, because the Supreme Court has said, ‘Hey, bifurcated trials are a fair, less arbitrary way to do this,’” he said.
Under Idaho law, prosecutors had 60 days after Kohberger’s arraignment May 22, 2023, to announce they would seek the death penalty upon conviction if they intended to do so.
Bryan Kohberger’s defense attorneys, from left, Anne Taylor, Elisa Massoth and Jay Logsdon depart the Latah County Courthouse in Moscow, Idaho, June 27, 2023. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
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About a month later, they sent that notice, alleging in court filings that the former criminology Ph.D. student “has exhibited a propensity to commit murder, which will probably constitute a continuing threat to society.”
Investigators set up outside the home where four University of Idaho students were slain in November 2022 in Moscow, Idaho, Nov. 1, 2023. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Kohberger is accused of killing Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20 and Ethan Chapin, 20, in a 4 a.m. attack Nov. 13, 2022. All four were staying in a six-bedroom home just steps from the University of Idaho campus.
Two housemates survived the attack, including one who told prosecutors she heard someone crying and saw a masked man leave.
Police search a home in Moscow, Idaho, Nov. 14, 2022, where four University of Idaho students were killed. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Detectives found a Ka-Bar knife sheath under Mogen’s body, which prosecutors alleged in court filings had Kohberger’s DNA on the snap.
Kohberger was studying for a Ph.D. in criminology at neighboring Washington State University, less than 10 miles from site of the killings. He has a master’s degree in criminal justice from DeSales University in Pennsylvania.
A judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf at the arraignment. His trial is expected to begin next year.
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David Coit scored 17 points, Elijah Saunders added 15, and Maryland defeated Oregon 70-60 in a first-round game of the Big Ten Tournament on Tuesday.
Maryland held Oregon to 3-for-22 shooting (14%) with 0 for 10 from 3-point distance in the first half and the Terrapins led 33-12 at the break. Maryland scored the first nine points and the Ducks made their first field goal at the 8:46 mark, making the score 17-8. Maryland later ran off 10 consecutive points for a 31-10 lead. Coit scored 12 points in the first half.
An 11-2 run helped the Ducks cut their deficit to 12 points early in the second half, but Maryland allowed only three points over the next 5 1/2 minutes and the lead was 58-34 near the 8-minute mark. A dunk and a three-point play from Nate Bittle started a 15-2 run for Oregon and it was 60-49 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining.
The Ducks got within single digits a few times, the last at 67-58 with 53 seconds remaining but Maryland’s Darius Adams made 3 of 4 free throws to preserve a double-digit margin.
Bittle scored 16 points, Kwame Evans Jr. 14 and Takai Simpkins 10 for 16th-seeded Oregon (12-20).
Maryland, seeded 17th, got 12 points, six rebounds and five assists from Andre Mills. Solomon Washington also scored 12 points and Adams finished with 10 points for the Terrapins (12-20).
Maryland defeated Oregon for the first time. The Ducks had won the only two prior matchups — both since joining the Big Ten last season. Most recently, Oregon won 64-54 at Maryland in January.
Up next
Maryland plays ninth-seeded Iowa in the second round on Wednesday.
SALT LAKE CITY — The 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City were, in a way, Utah’s entrance onto the world stage.
While the Beehive State is no longer a secret, the return of the Winter Olympics in 2034 will give the state a chance to showcase what could very well be the future of flight after the Utah Department of Transportation and state partners on Monday were selected to lead a federal pilot program to test advanced electric aircraft and other emerging aviation technologies.
More specifically, the Federal Aviation Administration selected Utah as one of eight projects nationwide for the Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program, a three-year initiative designed to help safely integrate advanced aircraft into the national airspace.
“What this means for Utah and for advanced air mobility is that this enables us to work very closely with the FAA in testing the technology that makes up advanced air mobility,” said Matt Maass, director of UDOT’s Aeronautics Division. “So the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft will be used for moving passengers, these aircraft will be used for moving cargo, medical transport, and it’s all going to be done electrically.”
Specifically, through an initiative called “uFly,” Utah will lead a collaboration between Oregon, Idaho, Arizona and Oklahoma — along with industry partners and research institutions — to test new aviation technology and gather data that will inform the future of electric flight.
Partners in the initiative include BETA Technologies, Ampaire, Joby Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Future Flight Global, Alpine Air, Jump Aero and Utah aerospace and defense company 47G.
Utah has been selected by @SecDuffy and the FAA as one of eight national pilot sites for next-generation electric aircraft. We’re proud to help shape the future of aviation right here in Utah, creating jobs, strengthening mobility, and keeping America at the forefront of… pic.twitter.com/pV2envlxUt
— Governor Cox (@GovCox) March 9, 2026
BETA Technologies might sound familiar to a lot of Utahns, for good reason.
In May 2024, the company launched Project ALTA in conjunction with 47G. Technically known as the Air Logistics Transportation Alliance, the project’s goal is to establish an “advanced air mobility system” for the state.
According to 47G, advanced air mobility is a novel mode of transportation that uses electric aircraft to move people and packages throughout the state. BETA Technologies in March 2025 returned to the state to conduct six days of demonstration flights, showcasing its electric ALIA aircraft.
The federal project, although it doesn’t have any funding attached, brings together over 30 public and private partners to conduct real-world flight operations.
“It will focus on parcels and packages, but then eventually people,” said Aaron Starks, president and CEO of 47G. “This designation now allows us to, through a phased approach, begin implementing all of this right away.”
Utah’s diverse landscapes are another reason the FAA chose the state to lead one of eight projects, Maass explained, saying the electric aircraft can be tested at high-altitude, snowy settings, desert environments and more.
Starks added he’s excited by the prospect of Utah leading the way when it comes to building a functional air mobility system.
“I grew up in northern Utah and rural Utah, and I remember as a kid, coming down to Salt Lake was like a big deal. That was the big city, right? You can be in an air taxi in Provo and into Moab in 36 minutes,” Starks said. “(If) I’m a Utah Jazz fan, or I want to go catch an MLB game, I can get in an air taxi and my family and I can be in Salt Lake, and we can be part of what’s happening here in the state, and live further away from the metropolitan areas that exist on the Wasatch Front. It’s awesome. It’s really cool.”
Starks added that in addition to moving people and packages, the project is also looking into how electric aircraft can be used for avalanche detection and mitigation, organ transplant delivery, wildfire monitoring and other exciting applications.
“This is going to happen in a phased approach, and our goal is to democratize this form of transportation so all families can take advantage,” Starks said.
The pilot program, like the inaugural ventures into electric flight from players like 47G, UDOT and BETA Technologies, has strong legislative backing.
Utah Senate President Stuart Adams said that nearly a decade ago, he told the Legislature that someday, electric air taxis would be flying in Utah and that he wanted the state to lead that effort.
“That one day, that one day is here today. We are now leading the effort with other states to bring air mobility to Utah and I couldn’t be more excited,” Adams said. “Our goal, our vision, is, we hope to have this functioning to be able to show off air taxis delivering to our Olympic venues.”
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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