University of Idaho murder trial: Venue will be moved, judge rules

The venue will be changed in the University of Idaho quadruple murder trial, Judge John Judge has ruled. The judge said, “Considering the undisputed evidence presented by the defense, the extreme nature of the news coverage in this case, and the smaller population in Latah County, the defense has met the rather low standard of demonstrating ‘a reasonable likelihood’ that prejudicial news coverage will compromise a fair trial in Latah County. In this Nov. 16, 2022 file photo flowers were left at the house where four University of Idaho students were found dead, in Moscow, Idaho. Lawyers for the suspect, Bryan Kohberger, pushed to move the trial to Boise, arguing the local jury pool in Latah County, which encompasses Moscow, was tainted by pretrial publicity. Bryan Kohberger arrives for a hearing on cameras in the courtroom in Latah County District Court on Sept. 13, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. Ted S. Warren-Pool/Getty Images, FILE Defense lawyers surveyed Latah County residents and said their results found that the “pressure to convict” Kohberger was shown to be “so severe” that the venue couldn’t be impartial. The same survey, according to the defense, found “much less emotional” responses from people living closer to Boise, which is about 300 miles south of Moscow. The prosecution has said the case has national and international interest, and that the case has been covered plenty in Boise, so a change of venue would not solve any problem. “As victims’s families you are left to just watch like everyone else and really you have little rights or say in the process and at the same time you are the most vested in the outcome,” the family said in a statement on Monday. Moscow Mayor Art Bettge said in a statement in August that, if the case stayed in Latah County, “I firmly believe people would be able to set aside any personal feelings they have … set aside any information they may have read or heard … and make a determination of guilt or not guilty based on the evidence presented in the courtroom and deliberate according to the instructions provided to them.” The judge said in June that if the venue changed, the trial date would still hold. A photo posted by Kaylee Goncalves only a few days ago shows University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Goncalves. Kaylee Goncalves/Instagram Kohberger is accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students in an off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://abcnews.go.com/US/university-idaho-murder-trial-venue-moved-judge-rules/story?id=113242163