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By Jenna Sundel
News Reporter
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Defense attorneys for Bryan Kohberger, the man suspected of murdering four University of Idaho students, are accusing the prosecution of withholding evidence and being disorganized.
Kohberger, 29, is charged with four counts of murder and one count of burglary related to the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. The students, known as "The Idaho Four", were found dead in their off-campus home in Moscow on Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger pleaded not guilty to all charges. He is eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
During Thursday's pre-trial hearing, Kohberger's legal team alleged that prosecutors are withholding evidence found during the discovery process, including video footage and cell phone records. Prosecutors have repeatedly denied this claim.
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Moscow Police Det. Brett Payne was called to the witness stand by the defense. He testified that thousands of hours of surveillance footage were collected during the investigation into Kohberger. The videos came from 79 businesses and residences.
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The defense questioned if they had access to all the footage. They also asked if they had been given all of the cell phone data evidence.
The defense called another witness, Sy Ray, who said up to 3% of the cell phone data in the case is missing. Ray founded ZetX Corporation, a company specializing in cellular geo-location mapping, analysis and training.
"Some of the most significant locations in the case are missing data," Ray said.
Defense attorneys claim they are not receiving evidence in an organized manner, saying "discovery is being given to us like we are living in a snow globe."
Latah County Deputy Prosecutor Ashley Jennings said prosecution has given the defense a 50-terabyte hard drive, more than 13,000 photographs, more than 15,000 video clips from businesses and more than 8,000 video clips from residences. She claimed that the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office have not given prosecution all of the evidence the defense is requesting.
"We can't give over what we don't have," Jennings said.
Newsweek reached out to Jennings for comment but did not hear back immediately.
Both sides are depending on evidence from cell phone data to help make their case. The defense claims the data will prove Kohberger was out driving when the victims were killed, while prosecution maintains the data will place Kohberger at the scene of the crime during the killings.
Newsweek reached out to Kohberger's attorneys for comment but did not hear back immediately.
At another hearing on Thursday that was closed from the public, the prosecution and defense discussed DNA evidence. The defense was expected to call two witnesses, genealogist expert Leah Larkin and forensic DNA consultant Bicka Barlow.
A date for the trial has not been set yet. During a hearing on June 27, the judge will decide whether to move the trial to a different venue to ensure a fair trial. The prosecution has been vocal about their opposition to a change in location, while the defense is conducting phone surveys of potential jurors in the area.
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