A U.S. judge says a former roommate of four University of Idaho students who were killed in their student house can testify about seeing an intruder with “bushy eyebrows” around the time of the crime, shutting down the defence’s attempt to bar her from doing so.
Lawyers for Bryan Kohberger argued in a hearing earlier this month that evidence describing the suspect as having “bushy eyebrows” should not be permissible because the witness is unreliable and the information is irrelevant to the case.
Bryan Kohberger listens to arguments during a hearing to overturn his grand jury indictment on October 26, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger, a former criminology PhD student, was indicted earlier this year in the November 2022 killings of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, in an off-campus apartment near the University of Idaho.
Kai Eiselein-Pool / Getty Images)
However, in a ruling on Friday, 4th District Judge Steven Hippler said the testimony could be used during Kohberger’s quadruple murder trial, which is set for later this year.
Kohberger, 30, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University, is accused of stabbing to death university students Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves inside their rented home in Moscow, Idaho, in 2022.
He was arrested in Pennsylvania in the weeks after their deaths. According to the Associated Press, investigators said they matched Kohberger’s DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene.
The surviving roommate told officers she saw a person wearing black clothing and a ski mask inside the home on the night of the murders at about 4:19 a.m., according to court documents.
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She was intoxicated at the time, and told officers she could not recall the suspect’s facial features, except that their bushy eyebrows stood out to her.
Kohberger’s lawyers argue that the witness has repeatedly questioned what she saw, and that her ability to remember the suspect’s appearance correctly was diminished by the presence of alcohol in her system, drowsiness, and that she would only have had eyes on the suspect for a few seconds.
She was also unable to give enough details for police to provide a composite sketch.
On these grounds, Kohberger’s defence team says it would be unfair and prejudicial to permit the “bushy eyebrow” testimony, as it could cause a jury to believe he is guilty because of his eyebrows.
But the judge rejected their request.
“There is a large gulf between finding that a witness is not competent to testify about what they personally witnessed, and simply allowing impeachment by vigorous cross-examination,” Hippler wrote.
“This is a matter for cross-examination,” he concluded.
Lawyers have been at loggerheads for some time over what evidence should and should not be permissible during the trial.
Hippler also said that if Kohberger is found guilty and convicted, his defence team cannot use his medical diagnosis of autism to explain his often listless behaviour in the courtroom, unless he takes the stand in the penalty phase of the trial.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to prohibit any testimony during the penalty phase about Kohberger’s autism, OCD, as well as the developmental coordination disorder that Kohberger may have experienced in childhood.
FILE – Bryan Kohberger, left, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, looks toward his attorney, during a hearing in Latah County District Court, Jan. 5, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho.
Ted S. Warren / The Associated Press
The prosecution team said they didn’t want these conditions to be used to try to limit or reduce Kohberger’s culpability if he is convicted.
But his defence team said they didn’t plan on doing that at all, and that instead his autism spectrum diagnosis would be used to explain some of Kohberger’s courtroom demeanor, like his tendency to hold eye contact for longer than expected, his ability to sit very still and his stoicism, the Associated Press reported.
However, the judge said he had not noted any odd behaviour from Kohberger.
“Not once has the Court perceived Defendant to be acting in an odd or incongruent manner or otherwise demonstrating signs at counsel table that would warrant any explanation to the jury. His demeanor has been entirely appropriate,” Hippler wrote in his ruling.
Introducing evidence about the autism spectrum diagnosis would likely confuse the jury and take up an undue amount of time in an already long trial, he said, with the caveat that his demeanour may become relevant if he takes the stand, as would his OCD as it caused sleeping issues and informed certain late night behaviours such as going for long drives and running.
If the aforementioned scenarios were to arise, the judge said lawyers should bring the issue to him without the presence of a jury, at which point he will decide if evidence should or should not be introduced.
–With files from the Associated Press