Idaho
Idaho student murders: Bryan Kohberger's family could be asked to testify against him, court docs reveal
Idaho prosecutors asked a judge to reject, at least partially, student murder suspect Bryan Kohberger’s request to give his family priority seating at his upcoming trial — arguing in part that relatives may be called as witnesses.
Deputy Latah County Prosecutor Ashley Jennings wrote in a court filing asking Judge Steven Hippler to exclude any potential witnesses in Kohberger’s family from attending the trial prior to giving their own testimony.
“The State may call member(s) of the Kohberger family to testify at trial,” she wrote. “Prior to start of the trial, the State anticipates it will motion the Court, or the Court will on its own accord, generally exclude testifying witnesses from the courtroom so that they cannot hear other witnesses’ testimony.”
BRYAN KOHBERGER’S AMAZON RECORDS ARE ‘CATASTROPHIC’ FOR DEFENSE, ‘SMOKING GUN’ FOR PROSECUTORS, EXPERTS SAY
Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger and his father are pulled over in Indiana during a drove home to Pennsylvania in December 2022. (Indiana State Police)
While victims’ relatives have guaranteed legal rights, there is nothing that gives the same to an accused killer’s family, Jennings argued.
“Defendant requests that members of his family be granted the same rights as the victim’s families,” Jennings continued. “However, the ‘immediate families of homicide victims’ have constitutional and statutory rights to attend pursuant to [the] Idaho Constitution…There is no comparable constitutional or statutory provisions affording a defendant’s family these same rights.”
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Amanda Kohberger, sister of Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger, is spotted exiting Monroe County Court House in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
Kohberger’s defense lawyers asked for his family to be included in a list of people to receive priority seating earlier this month, after prosecutors submitted a list of the victims’ relatives to the court.
Defense attorney Elisa Massoth claimed that excluding them would violate his Sixth Amendment rights. But Jennings shot down that logic.
PROSECUTORS CLAP BACK AT BRYAN KOHBERGER’S ‘BUSHY EYEBROWS’ DENIAL BY SHARING ALLEGED SELFIE FROM DAY OF MURDERS
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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“The Defendant has a constitutional and statutory right to a ‘public trial,’ but that does not extend to Defendant’s choosing whom sits in the courtroom,” she wrote.
The 30-year-old former criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University is accused of driving to the neighboring University of Idaho and killing four students.
IDAHO COURT RELEASES SURVIVING ROOMMATES’ TEXT MESSAGES FROM NIGHT OF STUDENT MURDERS
Prosecutors allege Bryan Kohberger took this selfie photo at 10:31 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022 – about 6 hours after the murders of four University of Idaho students he is accused of committing. (Ada County Court)
The victims were identified as Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. At least two were incapacitated and unable to react at the start of the 4 a.m. home invasion stabbings, according to court documents.
Police found a Ka-Bar knife sheath under Mogen’s body that allegedly had Kohberger’s DNA on it. Prosecutors have also alleged that surveillance video of a suspect vehicle and Kohberger’s phone records help place him at the scene.
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University of Idaho students from left to right: Ethan Chapin, 20; Xana Kernodle, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21. All four were stabbed to death in an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022. (Jazzmin Kernodle via AP/Instagram/ @kayleegoncalves)
The defense did not object to the presence of the victim families in court, but Kohberger’s lawyers took a swipe at the Goncalves family by asking the judge to ban people from wearing clothing with the victims’ faces on it in court.
Another judge entered not guilty pleas on Kohberger’s behalf at his arraignment in May 2023, to four counts of first-degree murder and one of burglary.
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Trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 11 in Boise after a change of venue.
Kohberger could face the death penalty if convicted.
PAYETTE — A Payette mom’s bond was revoked Tuesday after she was charged with suffocating her twin children earlier this month and is believed to pose a danger to the life of her newborn child.
The case, which has drawn national headlines, concerns Andrea Renee Shaw, a 23-year-old Payette mother who in May 2025 said her 18-month-old fraternal twins died the same day, after receiving routine childhood vaccinations. In January, Shaw joined as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed by Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with several other plaintiffs claiming vaccine injury or death.
Kennedy, who now serves as secretary of Health and Human Services, is no longer part of the group after taking on the cabinet position, as was reported by the Associated Press.
In Idaho, the twins’ deaths prompted a 14-month investigation by the Payette County Sheriff’s Department. On June 29, the investigation yielded a grand jury indictment of Shaw on two counts of first-degree murder by suffocation. If convicted, Shaw can be punished by up to life in prison or the death penalty, and the court would have the ability to order the penalties be served consecutively, or back to back.
Tuesday’s arraignment at the Payette County Courthouse was primarily attended by Shaw’s relatives and members of the media. Payette County Judge Kiley Stuchlik, who serves Idaho’s Third Judicial District, presided.
A key consideration for Stuchlik on Tuesday was a request from Joseph Filicetti, the legal counsel for Shaw, to have her bond reduced from $2 million to $100,000. Filicetti said this would allow for Shaw to care for a newborn girl, who, according to court documents, was born by caesarean section on June 25, four days prior to Shaw’s grand jury indictment.
State prosecutors objected to the motion for bond reduction, noting at hand was a potential death penalty case and asserting, unlike her husband, Shaw’s story repeatedly changed during questioning. Prosecuting Attorney Mike Duke said releasing Shaw would ultimately put the newborn’s safety at risk.
“That child is the most at risk. We do not think she should be allowed to be anywhere near any children, let alone her own children,” Duke said.
Stuchlik decided to revoke bond entirely, stating Shaw posed a “risk of safety” to the newborn child that was not known to Stuchlik or prosecutors when the $2 million bond was initially set.
Also for consideration Tuesday was a request to have grand jury transcripts of witness testimony provided to prosecutors and defense counsel to prepare their respective cases.
Idaho
Idaho is home to the nation's first DarkSky Reserve. Now it's home to the nations first DarkSky Certified Resort
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – A controversy is brewing as the City of Idaho Falls reviews its alcohol ordinance.
The goal is to consolidate four existing ordinances for beer, wine and liquor into a single law and ensure compliance with state code.
However, at its meeting last Thursday, the Idaho Falls City Council unanimously voted to remove the proposed ordinance from its agenda, in order to receive and consider additional public comment.
The proposed ordinance would:
1. Require commercial establishments selling, dispensing or permitting consumption of alcohol – including beer, wine or liquor – to have an alcohol license, alcohol catering permit or a charitable event permit.
2. Business events with 20 or less employees consuming alcohol at the business would be allowed.
3. Require alcohol servers to complete training every three years.
4. Individuals who violate the law could be charged with a misdemeanor.
Idaho Falls City Council President Jim Francis said the changes were the culmination of months of collaboration between law enforcement, business owners and city attorneys.
“We wanted to provide a safe environment – the primary point here – for public gatherings,” Francis said. “We recognize that certain antiquated elements of the current code are overly restrictive and needed to be addressed. We wanted to make the code more accessible to the public. We needed to address over-pouring issues. We wanted to reduce penalties where possible for violations, particularly the first offenses, and yet make the code clear enough to be enforceable consistently by law enforcement.”
But City Council Member John Radford said the changes represent an overreach by city government.
“I believe it’s a bad policy. What problem are we solving in the name of trying to solve a non-problem?” Radford said. “We’re becoming big brother around alcohol in your private property. I’m concerned that landlords will be at risk of being charged with a misdemeanor if they knowingly, which I made sure that was in there, because that is what we’ve been talking about, allowed people to drink in our business. We will be outside the norm of Idaho cities. This is a big step, and I don’t think the public has weighed in on this.”
At a City Council Work Session on June 1, Idaho Falls Chief of Police Bryce Johnson cited an increase in alcohol-related crime – particularly downtown – as a reason for the changes.
“DUI is there, but this would include sexual assaults, assaults, batteries, disturbances, urination, public vandalism, shooting – all sorts of crimes,” Johnson said.
But business owners are concerned about the potential impact on commercial enterprises.
“The ordinance doesn’t address the real problem – which is people drinking … at one event and then showing up in a bar or restaurant already hammered and causing problems anyway,” ” said Terri Ireland, representing the Idaho Falls Downtown Merchants Association. “The industry is really well-regulated by state and local laws already.”
The City of Idaho Falls began the process of updating its alcohol ordinance in January 2026, seeking input from community stakeholders.
Multiple community members spoke out about the ordinance.
For more in-depth information, you can read the full 39-page proposed alcohol ordinance here.
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