Special investigation apparently requested over evidence leaks in Kohberger case
The defense for Bryan Kohberger, the man charged with killing four University of Idaho students, appears to have requested a 'special investigation' into alleged leaks in the case in an episode of NBC's 'Dateline' last month.
The prosecution in the case filed a response Wednesday to the defense's motion regarding the appointment of a special prosecutor, according to a public case summary. Judge Steven Hippler, who presides over the case, ordered that filing sealed Thursday, the record showed.
The case summary also indicated the defense filed a motion for 'Access and Fair Investigation' and an 'Objection to Release of Privileged and Confidential Work Product' on Wednesday, which Hippler also sealed Thursday.
Sealed records are not released publicly, though the judge's sealing orders eventually will post to the state courts website, Idaho courts spokesperson Nate Poppino told the Idaho Statesman on Thursday.
At a public hearing last month, Hippler stated he held a closed-door portion earlier that same morning, and the Ada County judge said he was open to bringing on a special prosecutor. That person would be tasked with investigating potential violations of the court's gag order by law enforcement or the prosecution through disclosure of previously unreleased information about Kohberger and the investigation revealed in the episode of 'Dateline.'
'As I indicated, I would be open to a request for appointment of a special prosecutor,' Hippler told the defense at that hearing, 'and that special prosecutor to ask for a magistrate inquiry so they have the power of subpoena and the power to question witnesses under oath, as well as the power to grant immunity. So I will be looking for that from you.'
'Dateline' representatives have not responded to prior requests for comment from the Statesman.
The gag order, which took effect four days after Kohberger's arrest in late December 2022, restricts attorneys from both sides — and anyone affiliated with them, including members of law enforcement — from making public statements about the case outside of court. The episode of 'Dateline' aired May 9 — just days before a pretrial hearing in the case.
Edwina Elcox, a Boise-based criminal defense attorney, told the Statesman that the filing appears to be about the appointment of a special prosecutor.
'That's exactly what I think that is,' Elcox said in a phone interview Thursday. 'Because obviously Judge Hippler invited it, and that's the way the formal request would be made. They do everything through motion practice, so the way you get that done is ask for a formal inquiry and the court would appoint a special prosecutor.'
Hippler earlier issued orders to the prosecution and defense to retain all records and correspondence related to the likely violations within seven days. Each side filed a related 'notice of compliance' to the court on May 22, with the prosecution also submitting a supplemental filing on the matter the next day.
Kohberger, 30, faces four counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of four students at an off-campus home in Moscow. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if a jury finds Kohberger guilty.
The victims were U of I seniors Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21; junior Xana Kernodle, 20, and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20. The three woman lived in the Moscow home with two female roommates who went physically unharmed in the attack, while Chapin was Kernodle's boyfriend and stayed over for the night.
Kohberger's capital murder trial in Boise is scheduled to start with jury selection at the end of July.
Defense attorneys last month sought to delay Kohberger's trial, citing an overwhelming amount of evidence they've yet to review, as well as the prejudicial information released about their client on the NBC news program. Prosecutors objected to that request to postpone, and a public court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 18, to argue the issue before Hippler.
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