Judge Maintains Gag Order in Idaho Quadruple Murder Case Against Bryan Kohberger
An Idaho judge has denied a request from roughly two dozen news organizations to lift a gag order in the case of a man accused of stabbing four college students to death, according to documents filed in court on Friday, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The butchered bodies of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were found on November 13, 2022, at a rental home near the University of Idaho campus.
Bryan Kohberger, a graduate student studying criminology at Washington State University, has been charged in connection with the deaths.
The sicko is staring at the death penalty if he is found guilty. Kohberger continues to maintain his innocence. In January, Latah County Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall issued a sweeping gag order in the case.
Earlier this year, 30 news organizations asked the Idaho Supreme Court to reject the order, contending that it violates First Amendment rights. However, the gag order has now been significantly narrowed in response to the organizations' concerns.
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- Bryan Kohberger Trial: Families of Slain University of Idaho Students Allowed to Attend Via Zoom
The document, filed on Friday, is "narrowly drawn to prohibit only extrajudicial statements that have a 'substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing' this case."
The judge overseeing the case wrote that the revised order is designed to "protect the defendant's right to a fair trial" and to "ensure an impartial jury."
In a blow to the victims' families, the judge denied a request from attorney Shanon Gray, who represents the family of victim Kaylee Goncalves, to be exempted from the revised order so that he could talk to the press on the family's behalf.
The judge highlighted that, as an attorney, Gray could have access to confidential information about the case that would be prejudicial if it was released to the public.
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Gray has accused the prosecution of keeping the family in the dark. However, the revised order will prohibit only extrajudicial statements that have a "substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing" the case.
In a separate development, as RadarOnline.com previously reported, Kohberger's DNA matches a sample from a knife sheath near victim Mogen.
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