Idaho college murders: Judge weighs moving Bryan Kohberger trial to new venue amid safety concerns

Judge John Judge will consider arguments to decide if the trial of Bryan Kohberger, tentatively set for next June, should be moved about 300 miles south.

Whether the criminology student accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in late 2022 can get a fair trial in the same county where the killings took place will be the subject of a hearing Thursday that could alter the course of the case.

Latah County District Judge John Judge will consider arguments to decide if the trial of Bryan Kohberger, tentatively set for next June, should be moved to Ada County, about 300 miles south and home to Idaho's capital, Boise.

Defense attorneys said in a filing this month that intense media interest and a severe "mob mentality" against Kohberger, 29, within Latah County is sufficient justification for a change of venue. They included some of the reactions they said they received from a telephone survey done as part of a request to move the trial.

According to the defense expert who conducted the survey, one respondent said, "There would likely be a riot and he wouldn't last long outside because someone would do the good ole' boy justice." Another remarked: "They'd burn the courthouse down."

Kohberger's public defender, Anne Taylor, wrote in her change of venue request that "the prolific media coverage, in Latah County, is not a mere passing story."

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/idaho-murders-bryan-kohberger-trial-location-rcna167685

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