'I Trusted Her': University Of Idaho Victim Xana Kernodle's Mother Feels 'Betrayed' After Lawyer Leaves To Represent Bryan Kohberger
The mother of one University of Idaho victim has been left “heartbroken” and “betrayed” after her lawyer abruptly left her case to represent quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Cara Northington, the mother of Idaho murder victim Xana Kernodle, spoke out this week to reveal how her former defense attorney – Anne Taylor – had represented her in a drug case before dropping Northington’s case to represent 28-year-old Kohberger.
According to News Nation, Northington did not know she had been dropped as a client until Kohberger made his first court appearance on January 5 with Taylor by his side.
“I am heartbroken because I trusted her,” Northington told News Nation’s Ashleigh Banfield in an interview on Wednesday.
“[Taylor] pretended that she was wanting to help me. And to find out that she’s representing him, I can’t even convey how betrayed I feel,” Kernodle’s mother continued.
Taylor is currently chief of Idaho’s Kootenai County Public Defender’s Office and served as Northington’s lawyer in at least two drug cases.
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Prior to January 5, Taylor was representing Northington after Kernodle’s mother was arrested and charged for drug possession on November 19 – six days after Kernodle and three other University of Idaho students were stabbed to death on November 13.
Taylor was reportedly forced to drop Northington’s case when the defense attorney was appointed by an Idaho judge to represent Kohberger against the homicide charges he is currently facing.
“I don’t understand how she could do this,” Northington continued on Wednesday. “I don’t understand what happens now. Does she still have power of attorney?”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Kohberger was arrested on December 30 in connection to the November 13 murders of Kernodle, her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, and roommates Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves in their off-campus Moscow, Idaho home.
The 28-year-old murder suspect, who was working towards a PhD in criminology at Washington State University at the time of the quadruple murder, has since been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.
During her News Nation interview, Kernodle’s grieving mother spoke about her late daughter and the kind of person she was before her life was tragically taken.
“She was tough. She was strong. She was funny,” Northington said. “She just had a quirkiness about her that not a lot of people possess, that kind of talent to be able to light up a room like she did.”
“[Xana] would want all of us to live our best life and remember the good things about her,” the 20-year-old victim’s mother added.
Kohberger has since waived his right to a speedy trial and is not expected back in court until June 26 to face the murder and burglary charges against him.