Murder suspect Bryan Kohberger’s alibi has been dissected by a criminal attorney, who indicated it contains two “significant” terms.
Kohberger, 28, is the sole suspect in the quadruple killing of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. The prosecution has said that Kohberger broke into the students’ home in the early morning hours of November 13 and fatally stabbed each of the victims.
The latest court documents, filed on Thursday, have Kohberger’s attorneys claim their client was out for a drive on the night in question and was alone. It added that Kohberger would regularly go for solitary drives.
His defense lawyers entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf back in May to the four counts of murder and one count of burglary connected to the investigation. Kohberger was a Ph.D. criminology student and teaching assistant at Washington State University’s campus at the time of the killings.
Newsweek has contacted the Kootenai County Public Defender office via email for comment.
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Criminal attorney Sara Azari spoke to NewsNation’s Brian Entin on Thursday and reflected on the suspect’s alibi. She explained why the points raised in the alibi, that Kohberger was allegedly alone and driving around, were significant.
Entin remarked that he expected a more significant and in-depth alibi to come from Kohberger’s defense team at this point.
“I am sorry you are disappointed but look, [Kohberger attorney] Anne Taylor is all business, she is no games here,” Azari said.
“I think we are used to seeing an alibi in the traditional sense, where it is ‘I was here at this time, and these are the people who can corroborate it.’ That is not what she is doing.
“What stood out to me is that there is this new information and we know that she is saying he was alone, translation there is nobody that corroborate where he was, what he was doing at this time. And that he was driving around.
“That is key because should those cell pings, the movement of the car, the data from the phone, in fact check out and be reliable forensic evidence then he doesn’t have to deny it was him driving. He could just say that is still insufficient to place me in this party house and put a knife in my hand.
“So I think those two terms were really significant, in terms of the new information.”
A trial for the case has been tentatively set to start on October 2.