Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022, appeared at a hearing in Idaho on Thursday as his lawyers attempt to eliminate the possibility of the death penalty if he is convicted.

Kohberger, who sat in court wearing a suit on Thursday, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary for the deaths of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, who were stabbed to death in an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho, two years ago on 13 November 2022. He has pleaded not guilty.

At a hearing on Thursday morning, Ada county judge Steven Hippler heard oral arguments from both the county prosecutors and Kohberger’s defense team over capital punishment.

Idaho is one of the 27 states in the US that has the death penalty. The approved methods of execution in the state include lethal injection and, as of last year, execution by firing squad.

Prosecutors in Idaho issued their intention to seek the death penalty for Kohberger last year, as required by state law. In order to sentence a defendant to death after a murder conviction, the jury has to be unanimous.

In court documents, the prosecutors have argued that several aggravating factors exist in Kohberger’s case that they say could qualify for the crime of capital punishment under state law.

The factors they have asserted include that there are multiple victims, that the murders were “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel”, that he exhibited “utter disregard for human life”, and that he exhibited a “a propensity to commit murder which will probably constitute a continuing threat to society”.

But Kohberger’s lawyers argue that the death penalty sentence ought to be removed from his case, calling it unconstitutional.

They argue, among other points, that the death penalty would violate Kohberger’s right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, his right to due process, and that the death penalty goes against “contemporary standards of decency”.

His lawyers have also claimed that the criteria and standards for applying the death penalty are unclear and “unconstitutionally vague”, according to NBC News, and that Idaho’s requirement for a speedy trial makes it challenging for them to adequately prepare for a high-stakes death penalty case.

During the hearing on Thursday, Kohberger’s lawyers also argued that there is currently a shortage of lethal injection drugs in the US and in Idaho and that the state lacks effective means to execute an inmate.

“Idaho does not have a current means of executing anybody,” Anne Taylor, Kohberger’s public defender, said. “When somebody sits on death row and there’s no real means of executing them, that is dehumanizing to that person.

“It is anxiety. It is fear. it is the not knowing,” Taylor said, adding that the other method, firing squad, she believes is unconstitutional and has not been built yet in the state.

The prosecutors pushed back on the idea that Idaho does not have the means to put someone to death, saying that Idaho now has lethal injections available and that the methods could also change in the future.

“We just don’t know enough now, frankly, to spend the time and the effort debating what we don’t know in the future,” the prosecutor said.

The death penalty in Idaho has not been used since 2012 because the state has had trouble obtaining lethal injection drugs and then earlier this year, an execution was botched and delayed an execution when prison staff couldn’t find the man’s vein.

It is not clear when the judge will make a decision.

Kohberger, 29, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University, was arrested on 30 December 2022 at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania after weeks of investigation.

His DNA was matched to DNA found at the crime scene on a knife sheath and his cellphone data or surveillance video showed that him having visited the area at least a dozen times before the killings and that he traveled in the region that night.

Kohberger’s lawyers have said in court filings he was out for a drive that night, as they say he did often to hike and run, “and/or see the moon and stars”.

After he was arrested, Kohberger was extradited to Idaho and has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

Kohberger’s trial is set to begin in early August 2025 and jury selection is scheduled to start 30 July.

In September, a judge in Idaho moved the trial to Boise from Latah county after Kohberger’s attorneys argued, among other things, that he could not receive a fair trial in the courthouse in the local area where the killings happened.

Whether the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students can be punished with the death penalty if convicted will be the focus of a planned hearing Thursday, less than a week before the campus community will mark two years since the killings.

A judge in Boise, where the trial is set to begin in early August, will consider arguments from Latah County prosecutors and Bryan Kohberger’s defense team over the merits of capital punishment and whether the suspect poses a future danger to others.

Prosecutors have said in court filings that four aggravating factors exist in the case against Kohberger, who turns 30 later this month, making the crime more severe and the death penalty warranted. They are that there are multiple victims; the murders were “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel”; the suspect exhibited “utter disregard for human life”; and he has “a propensity to commit murder which will probably constitute a continuing threat to society,” according to the filing.

But defense lawyer Jay Logsdon, a public defender who is qualified to co-lead a death penalty case, asked the judge to strike the state’s death penalty request, in part, because he said executing Kohberger by lethal injection would violate his right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.

The defense has also suggested allowing for a special phase if Kohberger is found guilty that would require the jury to determine if he is then eligible for capital punishment, an extra step that prosecutors want denied.

In another filing last month, Logsdon countered the state’s claim that a “future dangerousness” aggravator exists in Kohberger’s case.

“Aggravators are intended for deciding which First Degree Murderers merit the death penalty. Future Dangerousness does not do that — it focuses on the person, not the act,” the defense wrote.

The death penalty in Idaho, while it remains on the books, had lapsed as its last execution was in 2012; the state, like many others, has had trouble procuring lethal injection drugs. In 2023, Republican Gov. Brad Little signed a law permitting execution by firing squad as an alternative method.

Idaho has since acquired the necessary drugs. In February, it planned to put inmate Thomas Creech, who was convicted of five murders in three states, to death after he had been behind bars for nearly half a century. But the state abandoned the execution after prison staff failed to establish an IV line, exposing the difficulties with administering the death penalty.

Another execution attempt of Creech, 74, has been scheduled for Nov. 13 — coincidentally the same day as when the four University of Idaho students were fatally stabbed in 2022 in an off-campus apartment house.

Kohberger was arrested more than a month after the four students — housemates Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20 — were killed. Kohberger was a resident of nearby Pullman, Washington, and then a doctoral student at Washington State University.

A not guilty plea on four counts of first-degree murder and burglary was entered on his behalf in May 2023. Authorities have not publicly confirmed a motive, and a gag order has prevented many involved from speaking.

The prosecution says it expects at trial to present DNA evidence, details about cellphone use and security videos to connect Kohberger to the crime.

Kohberger’s defense has suggested that he often went on late-night drives and that cellphone tower data would show that he had been doing so miles away when the four students were killed.

Next summer’s trial was moved to Idaho’s capital of Boise from Latah County after the defense successfully argued there would be a strong possibility for bias among potential jurors and the local community does not have the resources for such highly anticipated proceedings.

PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s basketball opened the 2024-25 season with a win over Idaho on Wednesday night in the Marriott Center.

The Cougars held off Idaho to secure a 67-62 victory.

#BYU women’s basketball opens the 2024-25 season with a 67-62 win over Idaho.

Freshman Delaney Gibb led BYU in scoring with 17 points.#BYUWBB pic.twitter.com/rpXhZaKtzQ

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 7, 2024

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BYU had a 16-point halftime lead but saw it trimmed to one point in the fourth quarter.

BYU women’s basketball defeats Idaho 67-62

Freshman Delaney Gibb led BYU with a team-high 17 points in her college basketball debut. Idaho’s Hope Hassmann scored a game-high 23 points.

Along with scoring production, Gibb dished out five assists. She scored eight of her 17 points from the free-throw line, knocking down 80% of her attempts from the charity stripe.

Gibb pointed to her defense as a highlight from her debut. The Raymond, Alberta, Canada native had two blocks and one steal.

“I think what helped me out was my defense,” Gibb said. “When Amari was off, I had to pick up ball and that always gives me a lot of energy. That worked well, and then also attacking into the paint hard and drawing fouls. It’s always nice to get to the free throw line and knock down some free shots.”

Former Utah/Cal transfer Kemery Congdon was a steadying force for BYU, scoring 12 points.

Santa Clara transfer Marya Hudgins had eight points and nine rebounds to give BYU the season-opening victory.

First Quarter

BYU opened the season on a 9-0 run. Former Utah and Cal transfer Kemery Congdon scored the season’s first points on a reverse layup, then Santa Clara transfer Marya Hudgins buried the first of her two threes in the first quarter.

A total of six BYU players scored in the first period, led by senior center Emma Calvert, who scored eight points.

BYU 24, Idaho 15

Second Quarter

BYU freshman Delaney Gibb scored nine points in the second quarter, giving her a team-high total of 11 points at the half. Gibb is a heralded freshman from Canada who played in her first BYU game.

Both teams’ offense struggled to close the first half, combining for 0-of-17 to end the second quarter.

Half: BYU 42, Idaho 26

Third Quarter

The Vandals showed fight in the third quarter, outscoring BYU 19-13. BYU only shot 20% from three and committed five turnovers.

BYU 55, Idaho 45

BYU women’s basketball held off Idaho in the Fourth Quarter

Idaho cut BYU’s lead down to eight and had three possessions where they missed three-point attempts. BYU guard Marya Hudgins then knocked down a jumper with 7:50 remaining to get the lead back to double digits.

The Vandals then reeled off a 6-0 run to make it a 57-53 BYU lead.

At the 4:24 mark, BYU was 1-of-8 from the field.

BYU was up 57-55 with Idaho and the Vandals had a fastbreak layup opportunity to tie the game, but Gibb blocked the layup by Hope Hassmann.

The Cougars didn’t capitalize on the offensive end resulting in another empty possession.

Idaho’s Rosie Schweizer hit a layup under the hoop to tie the game at 57.

Gibb then went on the attack and quickly put BYU back in front with a layup of her own. But the Vandals had another answer: Anja Bukvic hit a tough shot to tie it up.

One minute later, with 1:13 remaining, Heather Hamson put BYU in front.

Idaho then burned a 30-second timeout. Out of the break, they committed a turnover, which allowed BYU to set up a play for sharpshooter Kemery Congdon, who buried a three to give BYU a five-point lead.

On the Vandals’ next possession, Hassmann knocked down a three of her own, keeping Idaho within one possession.

BYU then burned a timeout with 20 seconds left. The Vandals fouled Amari Whiting, sending her to the line, where she made only one of her two attempts.

With 17.3 seconds remaining, Idaho committed a turnover out of a timeout, and then they fouled Gibb down 65-62. Gibb knocked down both free throws.

BYU came away with the five-point victory.

Next up for BYU women’s basketball

BYU hosts Wyoming on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Marriott Center.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.

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