An Idaho judge ruled against Bryan Kohberger’s defense team in a series of motions challenging critical evidence, a significant setback for the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022.

Judge Steven Hippler denied multiple motions to suppress evidence, including DNA found on a knife sheath at the crime scene, cell phone and email records, surveillance footage, and Kohberger’s past Amazon purchases.

Kohberger, a former criminology Ph.D. student, was arrested in December 2022 and charged with the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin in their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho. His attorneys argued that law enforcement violated his constitutional rights in obtaining evidence, but the court ruled otherwise.

One of the most significant rulings upheld the use of DNA evidence linking Kohberger to the crime scene. Investigators identified Kohberger as a suspect after submitting DNA from the knife sheath to public ancestry websites to generate a list of possible matches. Authorities then obtained a DNA sample from trash collected outside Kohberger’s parents’ home in Pennsylvania, which matched DNA found on the sheath.

The defense had argued that this investigative genetic genealogy technique violated Kohberger’s rights, but Hippler disagreed. He ruled that Kohberger “exposed his DNA to the public by leaving it on the sheath, thus forfeiting any reasonable expectation of privacy.” The judge also upheld the trash collection, stating, “by throwing away an item of trash containing his DNA, the defendant cannot object to testing of that DNA.”

In a prior hearing, Hippler had expressed skepticism about suppressing DNA evidence, saying, “when there’s a DNA match between the DNA and the sheath and Mr. Kohberger, isn’t that probable cause every day and twice on Sunday?”

The defense also sought to challenge the validity of the search warrants that led to the seizure of Kohberger’s digital records, including phone data from AT&T, Google, Apple, and Amazon, as well as evidence from a USB drive. Kohberger’s attorneys claimed the searches violated his Fourth Amendment rights. However, Hippler ruled that the evidence was lawfully obtained through search warrants and the third-party doctrine, which limits privacy rights over information shared with service providers.

Another motion sought a Franks hearing, which would have allowed the defense to challenge the credibility of the probable cause affidavits used to obtain search warrants. The defense alleged that law enforcement omitted key information regarding investigative genetic genealogy and misrepresented statements made by a surviving roommate who was inside the house at the time of the murders.

The judge rejected these claims, ruling that the genetic genealogy information “would have only bolstered probable cause” and that the surviving roommate’s statements were consistent. He noted that while the defense may raise these points during trial, there was no evidence of misrepresentation in the warrant applications.

The decisions were welcomed by the family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the victims.

“All the motions to suppress and Franks motion have been denied! It’s always a double edge sword waiting. You want the right decisions to be made but you also want them to be made quickly. We are thankful to the Court for a timely decision and appreciate the work prosecution has put in thus far. In the big picture of life justice is just moments away,” the family said.

Kohberger’s trial is scheduled to begin on August 11. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

#BryanKohberger #IdahoMurders #TrueCrime #DNAEvidence #UniversityOfIdaho #JusticeForTheVictims #LegalRuling

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