Surviving Idaho Murder House Roommate Fights Court Order To Testify For Suspect Bryan Kohberger
April 24 2023, Published 6:15 p.m. ET
One of the surviving roommates who lived inside the Idaho murder home on the morning four students were found slaughtered inside the off-campus property is fighting a court order to testify for suspect Bryan Kohberger.
In court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Bethany Funke, 21, claims she shouldn't have to testify because she lives in Nevada, which is roughly 480 miles away from where Kohberger will be on trial for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
The filing comes after the magistrate judge in Latah County, Idaho, required her to attend Kohberger's preliminary hearing in June. The documents state that Bethany "may be a material witness for the defendant in the case."
Bethany was NOT the roommate identified in the arrest affidavit who allegedly saw the killer and heard crying on the morning of the quadruple murders.
Since she lives in a different state, Kohberger's attorney claimed it was necessary to subpoena her to be a witness and the judge agreed. However, Bethany's lawyer is fighting back.
In brand new documents, the attorney, Kelli Anne Viloria, is fighting to "quash" the "foreign subpoena."
“There is no authority for an Idaho criminal defendant to summon a Nevada witness to Idaho for preliminary hearing," Viloria argued, claiming there must be a hearing before Bethany is required to testify.
“A preliminary hearing is not meant to become a mini-trial due to its limited purpose in deciding of probable cause," the documents read.
As of this post, no decision has been made on a preliminary hearing that would determine if Bethany's subpoena stands.
Dylan Mortensen was the other surviving roommate. According to the arrest affidavit, Dylan allegedly "heard crying" and witnessed a "figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person's mouth and nose walking towards her" before exiting the home on the morning of November 13, 2022.
She told the police the close encounter left her "frozen."
She described the suspect as being a "5'10" or taller, male, not very muscular, but athletically built with bushy eyebrows." She did not recognize him, but claimed he "walked towards the back sliding glass door" and she "locked herself in her room."
The documents released in January did not go into detail about the 911 call, which took place hours later.
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Kohberger, who has not yet entered a plea, was arrested on December 30 for the fatal stabbings. He was charged with four counts of murder and one count of felony burglary.
Kohberger was a Ph.D. student in Washington State University's criminal justice program and lived roughly 10 miles from the Moscow murder home.
The arrest affidavit revealed details that linked Kohberger to the crime, including DNA found on the knife sheath matching his, his white Hyundai Elantra, and his cell phone records.
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