According to a report released by NBC on Friday, the judge overseeing the trial against Bryan Kohberger, the accused in the Idaho College Murders, says that the trial will not begin until 2025. Understandably, this news of a delay in the court proceedings against the accused killer enraged the loved ones of the victims in this terrifyingly nonsensical quadruple murder.
In November 2022, four students of University of Idaho were fatally stabbed in the middle of the night by an intruder that managed to slay the four college friends within sixteen minutes. Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Gonclaves, Ethan Chapin, and Maddie Mogen were stabbed numerous times, with a ka-bar knife , it’s sheath left behind by Mogen’s body by it’s wielder along with possible evidence. Surviving housemates, Bethany and Dylan Mortenson witnessed the entire ordeal, and one even came face to face with the bloodthirsty intruder as he left the house through the sliding glass door.
Timeline of Events
3:29am : White Sedan Passes Residence twice
4:04am : White Sedan Returns
4:17am: Xana Kernodle’s Dog is barking ,
4:20am: White Sedan Departs
Coincidentally, Bryan Kohberger, a recluse and psychology student at University of Idaho, had a cell phone ping his location on the cell tower exactly around the corner from the location of the murders, shortly before and after the crime had been committed. A white sedan resembling Kohberger’s white Elantra was seen by surveillance camera fleeing the scene around 4:20am.
It was the surviving witnesses’,Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortenson, detailed accounts of the timeline for that night, the DNA evidence Ka-bar knife sheath left behind and cyber sleuths that led the cops to Kohberger’s family home.
Now two years after the brutal murder, the court officials and prosecution are delaying as much as they can, for fear of prejudice of a fair trial. But what about the right to a fair and speedy trial?
“Bryan Kohberger, 29, was initially set to be tried in October on four counts of first-degree murder, but waived his right to a speedy trial as his lawyers attempted to have the indictment dismissed (Ortiz, NBC).
How long do the families have to wait to see justice? The right to a fair and speedy trial is in place to protect not only those accused, but also those who have been victimized. To avoid drawing out any suffering that court proceedings bring upon those affected. In this case, delaying is hurting more than it is healing. In the article written by Ortiz, family members beg for the proceedings to begin, for it is keeping those around them from healing from the ordeal. The family and friends of the victims need to heal from this devastating loss, as does the campus, whos security was shaken by the crime.
Prejudice in this case is going to be unavoidable, given the media coverage and attention from cyber sleuths pulled in to get advantage on leads. Not to mention the various documentaries released and the true crime novelization While Idaho Slept by J. Reuben Applegate. From the prosecution and From the beginning, of proceedings it has been clear that Kohberger has done everything he could to avoid the charges brought against him. Starting with waiving due process and his rights to a speedy trial with the expectation that a possible deal might be in place, Kohberger and his attorney have dragged this out long enough.
The evidence against Kohberger is surmountable and irrefutable, in my personal opinion, however Kohberger’s attorney Anne Taylor claims she will not be ready for trial proceedings due to the amount of evidence and witnesses to comb through. Does she have anything that can refute eyewitness testimony? Is that really the reason or is this just another delaying tactic? Will we finally see a trial date for this heinous crime? Hopefully before 2025, for the sake of the victims’ families and the survivors of this nightmare. DNA doesn’t lie and the jury will see.
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