The attorney for suspected murderer Bryan Kohberger filed a motion requesting that the judge unseal the defense’s December motion asking the judge to reconsider his ruling rejecting the defense’s two motions to dismiss the grand jury indictment, ABC News reported.
Kohberger is suspected of killing the four University of Idaho students who were found brutally murdered in an off-campus house on November 13, 2022.
The defense filed two motions to dismiss the grand jury indictment, claiming prosecutorial misconduct and arguing that the instruction given to the jurors was inaccurate, biased, and lacked sufficient evidence.
Judge John C. Judge denied both motions in mid-December. In a filing requested under seal shortly before Christmas, the defense asked the judge to reconsider the decision.
Now, the defense is requesting that the judge make the arguments public.
In a filing on January 12, Kohberger’s attorney argued that his client acknowledged that the public had the right “to be fully informed of the issues.”
The high-profile murder case has been shrouded in secrecy due to the strict gag order in place.
The defense argued for the strict non-dissemination due to what it said was the media’s portrayal of Kohberger. Even the judge chastised members of the media for their “disappointing” behavior in filming the court proceedings.
But now, Kohberger’s defense wants the public to at least know about the December motion asking the judge to reconsider his request to reject the two motions to dismiss.
In the January 12 filing, the defense said it had only asked for the specific filing to be under seal because it was what the prosecution requested and since the deadline to file was quickly approaching, the defense acquiesced.
The defense argued keeping items under seal that were not “within the scope” of the relevant criminal rule would disadvantage Kohberger.
Arguments on the defense’s motion were scheduled to be heard in a pretrial hearing on January 26.
Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial in August, indefinitely delaying the case that was initially scheduled to begin on October 2, 2023.
