Latest news with #defensewitnesses
Fox News
30-06-2025
- Fox News
Former boxing coach says Kohberger never competed despite suspect's boasts
Many of Bryan Kohberger's defense witnesses don't want to go to Idaho and testify at his upcoming murder trial – including his former boxing coach, who told a Pennsylvania judge the suspected killer never competed and just came to work out. Jesse Harris, a boxing gym owner and contractor who Kohberger claimed to have studied under as a teen, asked a Pennsylvania judge to block his subpoena in the case based on undue hardship and the fact that it's been almost 15 years since he saw the 30-year-old Kohberger. Harris said his wife is fighting cancer, and he can't step away from his business for "20 minutes," let alone the time it would take to travel to and from Boise. Kohberger's father brought him to Harris' gym to build up his confidence when he was 15, the pugilist said. He described the operation as a place for kids to go when they couldn't make the cut on other sports teams. He said Kohberger never competed – he just worked out. Kohberger never even sparred there, he said, although the suspected killer wrote on a job application previously obtained by Fox News Digital that he "boxed every day after school at the Jesse Harris Boxing Gym." Judge Arthur Zulick upheld the Idaho subpoena, meaning Harris will have to testify at trial – but he said that could change if his wife's health deteriorates and leaving her would cause an undue hardship. At an hour-long hearing Monday on whether a half-dozen Pennsylvanians should be compelled to travel to Boise for the trial, only one agreed to go on his own. That was Anthony Somma, a former classmate of Kohberger's. Other defense witnesses were told to return to court next week. And hours after the hearing, the court revealed that more witnesses have been subpoenaed by the prosecution – Alison Ackerman and Lynn Courtright. Their connections to Kohberger were not immediately clear. Kohberger's defense team has already reserved a block of hotel rooms for his witnesses and is responsible for the costs of air fare and lodgings. Brandon Andreola also asked the judge to deny his subpoena. It was a losing effort. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES AT THE FOX NEWS TRUE CRIME HUB He said he is a new father and provides the sole income for his family. Reports that Kohberger's two sisters lost their jobs due to their connection to the quadruple murder suspect have him worried that he could lose his livelihood next, he said. The judge upheld the subpoena. Andreola asked if he could testify remotely, and the judge said that would be up to his counterpart overseeing the trial in Idaho, Judge Steven Hippler. Ralph Vecchio III appeared in court in response to a subpoena for "Ralph Vecchio." He said the intended recipient may have been his father, who owned the family car business back in 2019 when Kohberger's parents bought a white Hyundai Elantra. The younger Vecchio took over in 2021. th He said he never met Kohberger. The judge declared the current subpoena invalid but gave Kohberger's lawyers a chance to amend it. Vecchio is due back in court next week. He said his 88-year-old father is "homebound" and in poor health. William Searfoss, a jail guard who preserved Kohberger's records from a brief stay in Pennsylvania lockup before his extradition to Idaho, will likely not need to appear. Kohberger's attorneys need to subpoena those records themselves and not the correction officer who maintains them. He's due back in court next week, and Kohberger's lawyers will subpoena the records directly. Maggie Sanders was unavailable for Monday's hearing due to international travel. She is due in court on July 7. Her connection to Kohberger remains unclear. Ann Parham, an advisor at Kohberger's former high school, was ordered to testify before Monday's hearing and will be present at trial.
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Bryan Kohberger faces key Idaho murders trial hearing on witnesses with intimate personal details testifying
A key hearing is set to play out in a courtroom in Pennsylvania today to determine whether several major figures from Bryan Kohberger 's past life will be ordered to testify in his capital murder trial. The accused killer's former boxing coach, a man who worked at a local auto shop he used, and a fellow student at a school the suspect once attended are among a group of five Pennsylvanians summoned to appear in Monroe County Court Monday morning. All five have been called as witnesses for the defense when Kohberger goes on trial for the murders of Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen. The 30-year-old criminology PhD graduate is accused of breaking into an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, in the early hours of November 13, 2022, and killing the four victims in a stabbing rampage. Two other roommates were inside the home at the time of the attack but survived, calling 911 after finding one of their friend's bodies hours later. Following six weeks of terror in the close-knit college town, Kohberger was arrested on December 30, 2022 at his parents' home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania - where he had returned for the holidays. Kohberger grew up in the Poconos region of Pennsylvania, before moving to Washington state - just over the border from Moscow - in June 2022. Now, more than two years on from his arrest, his trial is finally set to begin in August. The motive for the murders remains a mystery and the suspect has no known connection to any of the victims. But, the defense looks to be delving into his upbringing and life prior to the murders to try to save him from the death penalty - and potentially the firing squad. According to court documents, seven known individuals living in Monroe County have been issued with subpoenas to appear as witnesses in Kohberger's trial in Idaho. Five of these individuals have been ordered to appear at Monday's hearing to show why they should not be called to testify in the high-profile trial. Among the five individuals is Jesse Harris who works at a boxing gym where the suspect used to train. The 30-year-old suspect used to box every day at the gym, according to a 2015 job application previously reported by Fox News. Ralph Vecchio, who worked at the auto shop Kohberger often used, and a man named Brandon Andreola have also been summoned to appear. Also on the list is William Searfoss, who works as a prison guard at the Pennsylvania jail where Kohberger was taken in the immediate aftermath of his arrest. Kohberger was held at Monroe County Correctional Facility for five days from his December 30, 2022, arrest before he was extradited to Idaho on January 4, 2023. It is not clear if Searfoss - a corrections officer at the facility - had interactions with Kohberger during his time behind bars at the jail. The fifth witness is Anthony Somma who, based on a Facebook profile, appears to have attended the Monroe Career & Technical Institute. Kohberger also attended the school on its youth law enforcement program. But he was kicked out of the program following complaints from a group of female students, former high school administrator Tanya Carmella-Beers has previously revealed. Carmella-Beers told The Idaho Massacre podcast in 2023 that Kohberger took the law enforcement program 'extremely seriously' and that he 'wanted law enforcement more than anything else in the world.' Carmella-Beers would not divulge the exact details of the complaints made by the female students, saying only: 'A complaint was made, and the teacher reported it to me, and said, 'You know, this is not something we can have. 'An investigation needed to be conducted. Other students were interviewed. Bryan was interviewed. And there comes a time when decisions have to be made, whether it's the decision the student wants or not.' After being removed from the program, Kohberger transferred to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning course instead. It is not clear if Somma was also on the law enforcement course - or if his witness testimony relates to the incidents on the program. Two others - Ann Parham, who was an advisor at Kohberger's school, and a mystery witness named Maggie Sanders - had also been summoned for the hearing. But, last week, Parham reached an agreement to testify in the trial, canceling her appearance at the hearing. Sanders, meanwhile, will appear at a hearing on July 7 instead. DeSales University Professor Michelle Bolger - who taught the accused quadruple killer on his criminal justice Masters degree - was also initially summoned before her name was removed on a later filing and replaced with Andreola. Bolger previously revealed her surprise over the allegations against her former student, telling in the days after his arrest she was 'shocked as s**t.' 'I'm shocked as s**t at what he's been accused of. I don't believe it, but I get it,' she said. 'He's a brilliant student,' she added at the time. The individuals will not be required to attend every day of the trial, the subpoenas reveal. The exact purpose and nature of the testimony of the Pennsylvania witnesses is not yet clear. But, Idaho Judge Steven Hippler's rulings ordering them to appear describe each of them as 'a material witness' in the case. A separate court order - denying the defense's motion to delay the trial - also revealed that some of the individuals have been interviewed by the defense as they seek to establish Kohberger's 'life story' ahead of the potential penalty phase. If convicted of the murders, Kohberger's team will present mitigating factors to the jury to argue he should be sentenced to life in prison rather than death. As part of their preparations, Judge Hippler revealed that defense experts had already carried out interviews with two of Kohberger's fourth grade teachers, his former boxing coach, a psychologist who evaluated him in 2005, a former coworker, a family friend and his former professor and advisor at DeSales University. Kohberger's family members have also been interviewed and his education, mental health and medical history have also been explored. Other witnesses expected to testify in the trial are the victims' surviving roommates - Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke. Mortensen came face-to-face with a masked intruder inside the student home moments after the murders took place. The DoorDash driver who delivered food to Kernodle minutes before the murders has also said she is expecting to testify at the trial. Bodycam footage shows the 44-year-old woman telling police during a traffic stop in Pullman, Washington, last year that she 'saw Bryan' outside the house that night and would be appearing at the trial. But, other than these individuals, the witnesses remain a mystery. Judge Hippler has sealed both the prosecution and defense's witness lists, keeping the details of who will be called to testify under wraps. On Thursday, the judge dealt a series of blows to Kohberger's defense, denying both his last-ditch request to delay the trial and his efforts to point the finger at four alternate suspects. In a scathing order, the judge blocked the defense from presenting evidence alleging that four mystery individuals - and not Kohberger - could be the real killer or killers. Judge Hippler said that the evidence against the four alleged alternate suspects was 'entirely irrelevant' and that the attorneys had not shown a 'scintilla of competent evidence connecting them to the crime.' The judge added: 'At best, Defendant's offer of proof can give rise to only wild speculation that it is possible any one of these four individuals could have committed the crimes.' While the order was redacted to conceal the identities of the individuals named as apparent alternate suspects, it was revealed that three of these individuals knew one or more of the victims. The fourth was not known to the victims, but had a 'passing connection' to either Kernodle, Mogen or Goncalves around five weeks before the murders. Now, after more than two years of legal wrangling, delays and the trial being moved, jury selection is scheduled to begin August 4, followed by opening statements August 18. Kohberger stood silent at his arraignment, with a judge entering a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Washington Post
30-06-2025
- Washington Post
Pennsylvania judge considers if witnesses must testify in trial over Idaho students' stabbings
Several potential defense witnesses from Bryan Kohberger 's home state of Pennsylvania are expected in court Monday for a hearing on whether they must testify at the former criminal justice student's trial for the stabbing deaths of four college students in Idaho. Kohberger's trial on four counts of murder and one count of burglary is on track to begin Aug. 11 in Boise, Idaho, after a judge declined his lawyer's request for a delay last week.
