The trial of Bryan Kohberger, accused of killing four University of Idaho students in a brutal stabbing attack, has been postponed. The court rescheduled the trial, moving jury selection to August 4 and opening statements to August 18. The defense had previously sought to delay the trial due to pretrial publicity, but the court stated the delay was due to internal scheduling. The court also denied the defense’s motion to suppress key evidence, moving forward with the trial as planned.
The trial of Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in a brutal stabbing attack, has been pushed back by one week, according to an amended scheduling order filed in Idaho’s Fourth Judicial District Court. The new order sets public jury selection to begin on August 4, with opening statements delayed to August 18, one week later than the previously anticipated date of August 11.
This rescheduling replaces the earlier August 4 plan for jury selection, which was now set aside for sealed proceedings involving the court and attorneys from July 28 through August 1. A spokesperson for the Idaho court explained that the updated timeline was an internal scheduling adjustment rather than a result of defensive delays.
The court also denied the defense’s motion to suppress key evidence, allowing the trial to proceed. The highly anticipated murder trial has faced multiple delays since Kohberger was arrested in December 2022, including the initial waiver of his preliminary hearing and the prosecution’s decision to pursue the death penalty.
Since then, the defense has filed multiple pretrial motions, including their request to move the trial due to publicity. Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the November 2022 slayings of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.
He has pleaded not guilty. Kohberger could face the death penalty if convicted. The court did not offer an estimated duration for the trial, only that proceedings would continue