A court document supporting an alibi defense filed on Wednesday reveals that Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, was out driving the night of the killings, according to his attorney.
The defense intends to present a cell phone tower and radio frequency expert to partially corroborate this account.
According to the filing, Kohberger was traveling west of Moscow, Idaho, and south of Pullman, Washington, “as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars.” The two communities are around ten miles apart.
The statement states that more details on Kohberger’s whereabouts will be disclosed after the provision of the previously sought discovery material by the prosecution.
Prosecutors, defense attorneys, and attorneys representing the families of the victims and witnesses are not allowed to comment publicly on anything other than what is already in the public record due to a broad gag order.
The high-profile case against Kohberger, who is charged with fatally stabbing four college students in Idaho early on November 13, 2022, has taken a new turn with this submission.
He submitted a not-guilty plea on his behalf in May, and according to his lawyers, he plans to use an alibi to support his case.
Kohberger’s public defenders have brought up their client’s alleged habit of going on late-night, lengthy trips by themselves on several occasions. Regarding the night of the murders, they said in an August filing that “Mr. Kohberger is not claiming to be at a specific location at a specific time.”
Nevertheless, the document presenting Kohberger’s alibi was expected for months as of Wednesday: “The specific place or places at which the defendant claims to have been at the time of the alleged offense and the names and addresses of the witnesses upon whom he intends to rely to establish such alibi,” according to Idaho law, must be submitted in writing by the accused.
In Kohberger’s case, the court hastily extended the time for submissions; at a hearing in late February, the deadline was most recently set for Wednesday.
In connection with the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, at a residence not far from the university’s Moscow main campus, Kohberger, 29, is charged with four charges of first-degree murder and one act of burglary.