How Did an Idaho Judge Deal a Setback to Bryan Kohberger’s Defense with Ruling on DNA?

The judge overseeing the high-profile upcoming trial against the man charged with killing four University of Idaho students in 2022 issued a major blow to his defense on Wednesday.

Idaho 4th District Judge Steven Hippler ruled that a DNA technique employed by law enforcement in allegedly identifying Bryan Kohberger as the murder suspect was fair and admissible at trial. Hippler denied the defense’s request to throw out the potentially crucial DNA evidence — as well as other evidence — from Kohberger’s forthcoming trial, CBS News reports.

Kohberger’s lawyers had been attempting to exclude evidence that potentially connects Kohberger to the crime scene, as well as attempting to exclude data linked to Kohberger’s various Internet accounts, plus other evidence, per ABC News.

Kohberger’s defense team had argued that their client’s constitutional rights were violated when law enforcement used a technique called Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG). IGG compares a DNA sample with public data from relatives in a genetic genealogy database, effectively laying out a “family tree” and helping officials close in on a suspect. The use of this technology led officials in the direction of Kohberger — with the help of his DNA, which was allegedly found on the button snap of a knife sheath left at the scene, per ABC News.

KIRO7 reported that Hippler stated in his ruling that there is “no reasonable expectation of privacy in identity” and that “even if [Kohberger’s] DNA analysis revealed sensitive personal details, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in crime scene DNA.”

Hippler also nixed motions to exclude digital evidence linked to Kohberger’s various online accounts (Google, Apple, and Amazon), as well as his cellphone data. Hippler also ruled that police acted properly when they collected trash as evidence from the Pennsylvania home of Kohberger’s parents.

“The Court finds Defendant has failed to demonstrate his constitutional rights were contravened by the IGG and trash pill and, therefore, suppression is not warranted,” Hippler wrote, according to Newsweek.

In denying all of the defense’s requests to suppress evidence, the judge laid the foundation for the prosecution to present their case against Kohberger to a jury this summer.

Kohberger is accused of stabbing to death Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, in an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho, in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022. 

Goncalves, Mogen and Kernodle lived together at the Moscow home where the murders took place, along with two surviving roommates, and Chapin was staying over for the night with his girlfriend, Kernodle.

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Kohberger was arrested on Dec. 30, 2022, nearly seven weeks after the murders happened. According to the probable cause affidavit, Kohberger was linked to the crime scene by DNA evidence found on a knife sheath left behind, video surveillance, and cell phone pings.

Kohberger stood silent when asked to enter a plea in 2023, leading a judge to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf. His trial is currently slated to begin in August. He could face the death penalty if convicted.