The judge presiding over the Idaho murders case mispronounced two of the four victims' names during suspect Brian Kohberger's arraignment to the disappointment of the victims' family members.
On Monday, Kohberger, who has been accused of murdering four University of Idaho students, declined to enter a plea on the charges, prompting Judge John Judge to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf.
During the hearing, Judge read the recently unsealed indictments and charges, which include one count of felony burglary and four counts of first-degree murder. Kohberger is accused of breaking into an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, and stabbing Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, to death.
While reading the charges, Judge struggled with two of the four names, referring to Goncalves as "Kayla" instead of "Kaylee" and having to repeat Kernodle's name four times.
"I'm sorry, this is hard," the judge was heard saying between reading the names.
In a statement sent to Newsweek on Monday, a spokesperson for the Latah County Courthouse said that Judge could not speak on pending cases, but that "our courts work every day to give all participants in court proceedings the respect they are owed."
After the hearing wrapped, it was reported by multiple outlets that Goncalves' sister, Alivea, expressed the family's frustration to a representative of the court over Judge's failure to identify Goncalves by the correct name multiple times.
Kohberger's six-week trial is set to begin on October 2.
After the students' murders, investigators spent weeks looking for a suspect, with the manhunt attracting national news coverage.
At the time of the murders, Kohberger, 28, was studying for a doctorate in criminology at Washington State University (WSU), located about 10 miles across the state border from the University of Idaho. He was arrested at his family's Pennsylvania home on December 30, more than a month-and-a-half after the murders. No prior connections between Kohberger and the victims have been established by prosecutors.
Meanwhile, authorities were able to link the 28-year-old to the killings with DNA found on a knife sheath at the crime scene and surveillance video that showed a car similar to his near the crime scene around the time of the murders. In the past, Kohberger's former lawyer has said he expected his client to be exonerated.
Earlier this month, Goncalves' family vowed to be in court for Monday's arraignment, telling ABC News, "A big thing is for us to go in strong, united as a family."
"I have no idea what to expect, I have no idea what we're going to hear," Goncalves' mother Kristi said. "But I know that I've got my son, and my daughter will be there, and my sister, and my husband."
Steve, Goncalves' father, added that he wanted to make it clear to Kohberger that his family will be "the family that's gonna make sure he doesn't get away with it."
Update 05/22/2023, 5:25 p.m.: This story was updated with comments from the Latah County Courthouse.
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