A judge has ordered prosecutors to turn over some DNA records to attorneys representing Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of the murders of four University of Idaho students.
Kohberger, 29, is charged with four counts of murder and one count of burglary in the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. The four were found fatally stabbed in an off-campus rental home near the university site in Moscow on November 13, 2022.
The judge entered not guilty pleas on Kohberger's behalf last year. He faces the death penalty if convicted. A trial date has not yet been set, but Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson has requested that it be scheduled for this summer.
Kohberger was a graduate student studying criminology at Washington State University in nearby Pullman at the time of the slayings. He was arrested at his parents' home in Pennsylvania after investigators pieced together DNA evidence, cellphone data and surveillance video that they say linked him to the crime.
Investigators said traces of DNA found on a knife sheath inside the home where the four students were killed were linked to Kohberger.
For months, Kohberger's attorneys have sought records relating to investigative genetic genealogy, or IGG, that prosecutors have said was used to identify Kohberger as a suspect in the case.
Genetic genealogy involves entering a DNA profile into a public database to find relatives, and has in recent years emerged as a powerful tool for identifying suspects who leave DNA behind at a crime scene.
On Thursday, Judge John Judge of Idaho's 2nd Judicial District ordered prosecutors to turn over some of the IGG records to Kohberger's attorneys.
"The court has now completed its review of the information provided by the state and orders the state to discover to the defense a portion of the IGG information," Judge wrote in the ruling.
"The specific material to be provided is set forth in a sealed order to protect the privacy of the IGG information, including individuals on the family tree."
Experts have previously told Newsweek that Kohberger's attorneys will be working to discredit the DNA evidence that prosecutors are relying on in the case.
"The defense is doing what they can to discredit the DNA evidence that puts Kohberger at the scene of the crime," Rachel Fiset, a criminal defense attorney, said.
"Casting doubt on the methodology used to collect the DNA, as well as the reliability of the DNA evidence, is the best manner they have to do this.
"The defense expert will likely testify to the jury regarding the potential of less reliable results when tracing genealogy through DNA as opposed to direct DNA sampling. The prosecution, however, will obtain a competing expert to debunk the defense expert's opinion."
A gag order imposed in the case bars the prosecution, defense attorneys and law enforcement officials from discussing it.
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