Bryan Kohberger was handcuffed and dressed in a suit as he made his first court appearance since the infamous Idaho murders case was moved to a new county across the state.
The 29-year-old suspect in the killings of four University of Idaho students appeared in Ada County court on Thursday afternoon, where the newly-assigned judge cast fresh doubts on the current timeline for the trial.
The trial was originally set to take place in Moscow, Idaho, in summer 2025 but was moved 300 miles away to Boise after Kohberger’s defense team successfully argued that keeping it in Latah County, where the students were killed, would impede legal proceedings due to a “mob mentality” among the prospective jury pool.
During the hearing, Ada County Judge Steven Hippler raised concerns about the timeline of the trial – which is expected to last between three and four months – saying it would be challenging for jurors because it would span the entire summer vacation.
He suggested either starting the trial either in May, or pushing it back to September.
Prosecutors said they preferred May, while the defense pushed for September.
The judge called for both sides to present their arguments in a closed hearing after which he will make a ruling.
In the hearing, Kohberger was also granted his request to wear a suit and tie instead of a prison jumpsuit, after his attorneys argued his right to a fair trial would be protected if he were to be allowed to wear “street clothes”.
“Authorizing Mr Kohberger to wear street clothing to all public hearings is one way to reduce potential for prejudice,” his attorney Anne Taylor wrote in court filings.
Taylor cited a Supreme Court decision from 1976 stating that forcing a defendant to wear a jail uniform to court could negatively impact whether a jury saw them as guilty of alleged crimes.
The family of one of victim Kaylee Goncalves have hit out at the request, calling for him to be required to wear prison garb.
While Hippler allowed Kohberger to wear his own clothes at Thursday’s hearing, he said he will decide his attire for future hearings after consulting with security officials.
Though he was in a suit this time, the hearing did mark the first time the former criminology student wore handcuffs in court.
The 29-year-old is accused of stabbing to death Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in an off-campus student home in Moscow on November 13 2022.
Mogen and Kernodle were living in the house at the time, while Goncalves had just recently moved out but had returned for the weekend. Chapin was Kernodle’s boyfriend, and was staying in the home on the night of the attacks.
Two other female roommates were also in the house at the time but were unharmed.
Kohberger was arrested around six weeks later and charged with the murders.
When asked to enter a plea in court in 2023, Kohberger stood silent, prompting a judge to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.
