A pretrial appeal filed with the Idaho Supreme Court by Bryan Kohberger’s public defenders was denied Tuesday, though reasoning behind the denial was not provided. Kohberger’s attorneys claimed prosecutors indicted their client improperly on four counts of first-degree murder and a single count of burglary, to the grand jury.
The suspect was attempting to delay proceedings by appealing one of the judge’s individual decisions to a higher court, which was denied. Specifically, Kohberger wanted the supreme court to overturn the judge’s decision not to toss the indictment. Kohberger, a 29-year-old Pennsylvania criminology Ph.D. student, was attending Washington State University in the neighboring town of Pullman, across the state line, where prosecutors allege he entered an off-campus home around 4 a.m. on Nov.
The murders of Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21, and Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, both 20, shook the country in November 2022. A surviving housemate witnessed a masked man walk out the back door after overhearing sounds of a struggle minutes into the attack, but police were not called until around noon the next day.
It took police more than six weeks to capture a suspect. They arrested Kohberger at his parents' house in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains after a lengthy investigation that included help from the FBI and police across multiple states. Judge entered not guilty pleas on Kohberger's behalf at his arraignment in May. He could face the death penalty if convicted. GO HERE FOR MORE TRUE CRIME FROM FOX NEWS DIGITAL The trial was initially expected to last six weeks, but lawyers now expect it to go on for 12 to 15. Judge has not yet set a start date.