Bryan Kohberger defense challenges Idaho prosecutors over cellphone records

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Idaho judge in Bryan Kohberger case slams defense for possibly ‘inculpatory’ questionnaires

Idaho Judge John Judge on Thursday condemned the defense in the Bryan Kohberger murder case for distributing questionnaires that could be ‘inculpatory’ to Latah County residents.

Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, was back in court Thursday for another pre-trial hearing where his defense pressed the Moscow Police Department detectives about the mishandling of phone records linked to his alibi. 

Moscow Police Detective Lawrence Mowery testified on Thursday about his role in the investigation, admitting that he did not save files on his computer from Kohberger’s cellphone the night of the murders, but expressed to the court that he was confident he could replicate the missing data. 

Earlier this month, prosecutors argued Kohberger’s alibi, which his lawyers filed more than a year after the murders, was too vague when his defense claimed he was driving around looking at “the moon and the stars.” 

Kohberger’s defense team claims that prosecutors are withholding evidence in the case, which reportedly includes dashcam footage in connection to the search warrant of Kohberger’s Pennsylvania home, cellphone tower data, and video and audio recordings of a white sedan near the scene of the killings, the Idaho Statesman first reported. 

BRYAN KOHBERGER’S ALIBI RIPPED APART IN IDAHO PROSECUTORS’ ‘TEMPER TANTRUM’

Bryan Kohberger, left, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, appears at a hearing in Latah County District Court, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. Second District Judge John C. Judge, seen on a video display, presides over the hearing. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren/Pool)

Investigators claim that they have phone pings that place Kohberger near the house the day of the murders, but Kohberger’s defense argued that he was nowhere near the house where the killings happened.

According to a probable cause affidavit connected to his arrest warrant, police allegedly found his DNA on a knife sheath under the body of one of the victims.

His attorneys have previously tried to argue that the DNA may have been planted at the scene and that the state has mishandled all the evidence for the defense to review.

Investigators later allegedly confirmed a match with a DNA sample, which used distant relatives to make the connection to Kohberger. 

IDAHO PROSECUTORS IN BRYAN KOHBERGER CASE FILE NEW MOTION AS DEFENSE RAISES FAIR TRIAL QUESTIONS

Bryan Kohberger’s booking photo with insets of his alleged victims.  (Monroe County Prison/Instagram)

Earlier this month, prosecutors also argued Kohberger’s alibi was too vague when his defense claimed he was driving around looking at “the moon and the stars.” 

“With the exception of the reference to Wawawai Park, the defendant is offering nothing new to his initial ‘alibi’ that he was simply driving around during the morning hours of November 13, 2022,” Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson wrote in a previous court filing.

Prosecutors allege that Kohberger is the masked man who entered a house just steps from the University of Idaho campus around 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022.

BRYAN KOHBERGER CASE: IDAHO JUDGE MAKES ‘FAMILY TREE’ DNA DISCLOSURE DECISION

Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for a hearing at the Latah County Courthouse on June 27, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022.  (August Frank-Pool/Getty Images)

The next morning, police arrived to discover four deceased undergrad students, Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21, their housemate Xana Kernodle, 20, and her visiting boyfriend Ethan Chapin, also 20, all dead inside the house.

Kohberger, who was studying for a Ph.D. in criminology at nearby Washington State University, faces four charges of first-degree murder and a felony burglary count.

Kohberger is being held without bail. A judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf at his arraignment earlier in May.

If convicted, he could be sentenced to death.

There was no ruling made in Thursday’s hearings. The next hearing is scheduled for May 30, with more witnesses expected to take the stand. 

Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.