Idaho Murder Suspect Bryan Kohberger’s Court Battle Gets Huge Boost From Unlikely Source, But Public Says ‘You Can’t Hide’

Prosecutors have shown their support for Bryan Kohberger’s lawyers’ request not to allow cameras during the Idaho murder suspect’s trial.

Both sides have raised concerns about the use of cameras in a highly anticipated trial after Kohberger allegedly stabbed four University of Idaho students in November 2022.

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Prosecutor Bill Thompson asked the trial judge to at least remove the cameras during the testimony of “a number of young and vulnerable witnesses.”

These witnesses include the two surviving roommates who were in the house outside the Moscow campus when their friends were murdered.

Thompson said, given the extensive coverage of the case, “certain witnesses have already been subjected to threats and harassment, including physical assault, directed not only at the witnesses and other female students at the university, but also at their extended families and friends.”

The defense asked Latah County District Judge John Judge in late August to exclude cameras from the trial, saying the coverage would violate Kohberger’s constitutional rights.

If cameras were allowed, the trial judge said in a hearing at the end of June, the cameras would not only be able to focus on Kohberger, but rather film a wide shot of the courtroom.

Jay Logsdon, Kohberger’s defense attorney, mentioned the judge’s testimony from the hearing in his motion to remove the cameras entirely.

He argued that reporting on the allegations against Kohberger after the judge’s warning created bias among potential jurors.

“The observers’ continued failure to comply with the Court’s June 27 order compounds this problem and results in the potential jury pool being constantly inundated with conclusive allegations and sensationalized nonsense under the guise of factual reporting and analysis,” it said File.

Despite support from both sides, a decision has yet to be made regarding the cameras in court, but a hearing on the issue is scheduled for Wednesday.

People on social media weren’t shy about voicing their opinions about whether cameras should be allowed during Kohberger’s trial.

“We need cameras!” said one person on X, formerly Twitter.

Another wrote: “You can’t hide.”

“I hope we get to watch,” chimed in a third.

Kohberger has been in prison since his arrest in December 2022 and is awaiting trial.

Moscow police targeted the suspect at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania after linking him to the murders of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.

Kohberger was a doctoral student in criminology at Washington State University in Pullman, about a 15-minute drive from the college students’ home, when he allegedly committed the murders.

The murder weapon was never found, but police recovered a knife sheath with DNA on it that prosecutors said likely matched Kohberger.

Despite the evidence against Kohberger, the judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary at his arraignment in May.