Judge denies Bryan Kohberger motions to exclude key DNA evidence from trial

An Idaho judge denied several defense motions filed by Bryan Kohberger’s defense team to suppress key DNA and other evidence that named him the suspect in the 2022 murders of four students near the University of Idaho.

In a major blow to Kohberger’s defense, Ada County Judge Steven Hippler issued multiple new rulings Wednesday that will allow for cell phone and email records, surveillance footage, Kohberger’s past Amazon purchases and DNA evidence to be used in trial.

Kohberger was arrested in December 2022 and charged with murder in the November 2022 deaths of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20.

A big win for prosecutors was the judge’s move to allow DNA evidence found on the button of a knife sheath left near the body of two victims at the murder scene.

Investigators had run the DNA sample through public ancestry websites to build a list of possible suspects.

In the investigation, authorities learned Kohberger had driven from Pullman, Washington, to his parents’ home in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Law enforcement conducted a trash pull there and obtained DNA that tied Kohberger to the knife sheath. That DNA later proved to be a statistical match to a swab taken from Kohberger’s cheek taken in 2022. 

The defense had argued that law enforcement violated Kohberger’s constitutional rights by failing to secure a warrant before conducting the investigative genetic genealogy and before the trash pull.

The judge found that there was no constitutional violation as Kohberger allegedly “exposed his DNA to the public by leaving it on the sheath, thus forfeiting any reasonable expectation of privacy in the DNA left behind” and “there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in DNA found at a crime scene which is subsequently analyzed to identify an unknown suspect.”

Similarly, Hippler said that investigators were justified in searching through trash outside Kohberger’s parents home after they zeroed in on him. Hippler said, “by throwing away item of trash containing his DNA, defendant cannot object to testing of that DNA.”

In a hearing last month, Hippler seemed skeptical of tossing out DNA evidence saying: “when there’s a DNA match between the DNA and the sheath and Mr. Kohbeger, isn’t that probable cause every day and twice on Sunday?”

In another filing, Hippler denied the defense’s motion for a Franks hearing, which is when the defense challenges validity of information used by law enforcement to obtain a search warrant.

The defense claimed law enforcement “intentionally or recklessly misrepresented material facts in their probable cause affidavits for search warrant applications.”

A hearing was held in January on “the alleged omission of information regarding Defendant’s identification through investigative genetic genealogy,” according to one of the filings. The judge found that the warrants are not invalid based on that omission, because that information “would have only bolstered probable cause for the searches.” 

In that Franks motion, the defense also argued law enforcement misrepresented statements made by a roommate of the victims who was in her own bedroom at the time of the murders.

The judge said that the defense’s challenge “may be fodder for cross-examination,” but noted her accounts in interviews with law enforcement were consistent. The judge further found no evidence of misrepresented material in the application for search warrants.

Another motion asked Hippler to dismiss use of digital evidence investigators collected from AT&T, Google, Apple, Amazon and a USB drive, which the defense claimed violated Kohberger’s Fourth Amendment rights. Judge Hippler ruled that the evidence was lawfully obtained through search warrants and because Kohberger relinquished any privacy interest in the subpoenaed records due to third-party doctrine. 

The rulings were praised by the Goncalves family.

“All the motions to suppress and Franks motion have been denied! It’s always a double edge sword waiting. You want the right decisions to be made but you also want them to be made quickly. We are thankful to the Court for a timely decision and appreciate the work prosecution has put in thus far. In the big picture of life justice is just moments away,” the family said.

Kohberger’s trial is set for Aug. 11. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.