Idaho
Idaho murders: Bryan Kohberger makes first Boise courthouse appearance as defense wages jumpsuit war
Bryan Kohberger, the 29-year-old criminology Ph.D. student accused of murdering four undergrads at the University of Idaho days before Thanksgiving in 2022 is preparing to appear in a new court for the first time after his successful push for a change of venue.
The hearing Thursday is the first in Boise and is expected to be a minor event to bring the new judge up to speed on the case. But it marks the beginning of a new phase in the proceedings against Kohberger, who could face the death penalty if convicted.
Experts don’t expect to see any surprises but say the new judge will make his presence known to both sides as he takes over the case.
IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS SUSPECT BRYAN KOHBERGER ASKS NEW JUDGE FOR COURTHOUSE WARDROBE EXCEPTION
Bryan Kohberger is led to an awaiting Ada County Sheriff’s vehicle at Boise Airport in Boise, Idaho, Sept. 15, 2024. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“It’s just a check-in, since the case was moved, and probably just to let the parties know what he expects going forward,” said Edwina Elcox, a Boise-based defense attorney who is not involved in the proceedings.
Judge Steven Hippler is the Ada County jurist now in charge after his counterpart in Latah County, Judge John Judge, agreed to a defense motion for a change of venue.
“The judge will introduce himself,” said David Gelman, a New Jersey-based defense attorney who has been following the case closely. “They have to get familiar with everything and what motions are still left to do.
“I’m sure they already have a good idea, but when you change venue, it’s chaotic. Not saying it resets everything, but it definitely makes the case take a couple steps back.”
NEW IDAHO JUDGE IN BRYAN KOHBERGER TRIAL NO STRANGER TO BRUTAL MURDER CASES
Bryan Kohberger is in the custody of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, according to online jail records. Along with the transfer came a new booking photo, taken when he arrived earlier this month. (Ada County Sheriffs Office)
The case’s previous judge entered not guilty pleas on Kohberger’s behalf to four counts of first-degree murder and a felony burglary charge at his arraignment last year.
His lawyers have asked the court to throw out the possibility of the death penalty.
A hearing on the capital punishment issue has been scheduled for Nov. 7, nearly two years after the slayings.
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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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According to prosecutors, a man with a large knife entered an off-campus house around 4 a.m. Nov. 13, 2022, and killed four students inside — Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
As investigators scoured the bloody crime scene, they found a Ka-Bar knife sheath under Mogen’s remains, according to court documents. On the sheath, they say, they found a DNA sample that led them to Kohberger.
Bryan Kohberger arrives at the Monroe County Courthouse in Pennsylvania in advance of an extradition hearing. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
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Additional evidence revealed in court includes cellphone records and video showing the movements of his car.
Two additional roommates were not attacked, and prosecutors said one of them froze in place as she watched a masked man leaving out the back door.
The trial has already been delayed and is expected to begin in June 2025.
Idaho
Gov. Little signs bill ending license plate registration stickers in Idaho
Gov. Brad Little has signed House Bill 533, which would remove the need for license plate stickers on Idaho vehicles.
The legislation, introduced earlier this session by Rep. Jon Weber (R) of Boise, eliminates the requirement for registration stickers on Idaho license plates. Weber stated during the bills intorduction that officers can verify the status of license plates without the stickers, potentially saving the state around $300,000.
During the bill’s introduction, some lawmakers argued that it could increase the workload for law enforcement.
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The new law is set to take effect in July.
Idaho
Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances
For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.
“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.
The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.
Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.
Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.
Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.
“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.
Doing so is a risk, he said.
“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.
Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.
But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.
Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.
Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.
“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.
The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.
House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.
Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio
Idaho
University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders
A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.
A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.
Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”
“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.
“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”
Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.
Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.
The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.
Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.
Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”
The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.
Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.
In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.
During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.
However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.
She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.
It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.
The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.
With Post wires
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