Idaho
University of Idaho quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger seeks to strike death penalty
The defense of University of Idaho quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger is seeking to have the death penalty thrown out in his case.
On Thursday, Kohberger’s defense filed over a dozen motions seeking to strike aggravating factors, and the death penalty itself.
The documents also claim the means by which the death penalty is carried out in Idaho are unconstitutional, saying, “executing Mr. Kohberger by means of lethal injection or a gunshot as conceived of by the Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) would violate his right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment and his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
RELATED STORY | Kohberger alibi to dispute his location on night of Idaho murders
Other documents claim Idaho’s death penalty violates international law and human rights, and that “there has been an ideological shift (in the United States) and that the punishment now violates our contemporary stands of decency.”
Kohberger’s defense also claims “Idaho’s statutory and constitutional guarantee to a speedy trial prevents effective assistance of counsel in death penalty cases,” and “a capital case cannot be prepared in 10 months.”
Kohberger is charged with the brutal murders of Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Kaylee Goncalves at their rental home near the University of Idaho. Six weeks after they were stabbed to death, Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania.
RELATED STORY | Trial date set for Idaho student murder suspect Bryan Kohberger
His trial is currently slated to begin in June 2025.
For months, Kohberger’s attorneys had been fighting to have his trial moved from Latah County to Ada County, where Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell stood trial. Following a hearing last week, Judge John Judge is currently weighing the decision to move the trial.
According to court records, Judge Judge will hear arguments on the challenge to the death penalty on Nov. 7.
This story was originally published by Ivy Brown on Court TV.
Idaho
Idaho AG warns Idaho renters about growing scam targetting home seekers
Idaho
Bond revoked for indicted Idaho mother
PAYETTE — A Payette mom’s bond was revoked Tuesday after she was charged with suffocating her twin children earlier this month and is believed to pose a danger to the life of her newborn child.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
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