Idaho prosecutors submit disputed Bryan Kohberger DNA evidence to judge for review

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Criminal defense attorney dissects evidence that led authorities to suspected Idaho killer

Criminal defense attorney Lexie Rigden on the case against murder suspect Bryan Kohberger one year later.

Idaho prosecutors have submitted disputed DNA evidence to the court that student stabbings suspect Bryan Kohberger wants handed over to him as he hopes to beat four first-degree murder charges and a burglary count in the November 2022 massacre of four university students.

Prosecutors say that police used investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) evidence to generate leads but not to obtain any warrants in the case. They allegedly confirmed a match between a DNA sample on a knife sheath found at the crime scene to Kohberger's cheek swab.

Police recovered a Ka-Bar knife sheath under the body of 21-year-old victim Madison Mogen, who they found with stab wounds in an upstairs bedroom alongside her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, 21.

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Bryan Kohberger, left, 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)

Their housemate Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, also 20, were also killed. Two other housemates survived, including one who saw a masked man matching Kohberger's description walk out the back door, according to court documents.

In a filing dated Nov. 30 and released over the weekend, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson wrote that his office had "submitted the IGG information in its possession, custody or control."

The fight over whether the IGG evidence should be disclosed has been a sticking point for the defense as it demands more information through the discovery process.

Judge John Judge gave Kohberger's defense a minor victory in October, ordering the prosecution to share the evidence with him for an in-camera review, an inspection by the judge done in private.

Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves' final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

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He is expected to examine the IGG evidence and decide how much of it, if any, should be shared with the defense.

"The state’s argument that the IGG investigation is wholly irrelevant since it was not used in obtaining any warrants and will not be used at trial is well supported," Judge wrote previously. "Nonetheless, Kohberger is entitled to view at least some of the IGG information in preparing his defense, even if it may ultimately be found to be irrelevant."

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All four victims were undergrad students at the University of Idaho. Kohberger, who attended the neighboring Washington State University in pursuit of a Ph.D. in criminology, drove a white Hyundai Elantra, the same type of car investigators identified as the suspect vehicle, and allegedly turned his phone off before heading to and from the crime scene, according to the affidavit.

Judge John Judge speaks during Bryan Kohberger’s hearing on Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, at the Latah County Courthouse in Moscow, Idaho. (August Frank/Lewiston Tribune/Pool)

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Police, citing phone records, also alleged that he stalked the victims' home on a dozen occasions before the murders and drove by once more hours after. 

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

He could face the death penalty if convicted.