MOSCOW, Idaho — The lead attorney for quadruple homicide suspect Bryan Kohberger says detectives investigating the case found two unidentified blood samples at the crime scene, which could be a possible legal defense strategy for Kohberger.
According to the Idaho Statesman, an unknown man’s DNA was found on a hand-rail at the off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, where the murders took place. Another unknown blood sample was found on a glove that police found just outside the home, according to Kohberger’s attorney, Anne Taylor.
Police say Kohberger’s DNA was also found at the home-- on a fixed-blade knife’s sheath that was found in the bed of one of the victims.
The DNA discovery was brought to light in court filings from at least, if not before, August 2023. However, they were not made publicly available until earlier this year.
Taylor alleges police did not disclose the unidentified DNA samples to a judge in December 2022.
Kohberger is charged in the murders of Mount Vernon native Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, who were stabbed to death in the early morning of Nov. 13, 2022, at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho.
He is a former graduate student at Washington State University in Pullman, which is about 10 miles away from the University of Idaho, where all four victims were attending college.
Police say surveillance video shows Kohberger driving by the victims’ home three times before the murder. Police also say that Kohberger’s phone pinged near the victims’ home over a dozen times before the murders.
Kohberger has not entered a plea, and his trial is expected for June, though it has been pushed back several times over the years.
The death penalty could be on the table for him if he is found guilty.
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