Judge lifts gag order in Idaho murders case against Bryan Kohberger

Idaho judge lifts Bryan Kohberger gag order in quadruple murder case

A gag order in the Bryan Kohberger quadruple murder case was vacated Thursday by Idaho Judge Steven Hippler.

BOISE, Idaho - An Idaho judge lifted a sweeping gag order Thursday in Bryan Kohberger’s quadruple murder case.

Bryan Kohberger avoided a potential death sentence by pleading guilty earlier this month to the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students at a rental home near campus in 2022.

Judge lifts gag order in Idaho murders case against Bryan Kohberger

Idaho judge lifts sweeping gag order in Bryan Kohberger's quadruple murder case. Watch the full hearing from Ada County, Idaho on July 17.

A coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press had asked the court to lift the gag order since a trial is no longer planned. They renewed their request after Kohberger pleaded guilty.

During a hearing Thursday morning, 4th District Judge Steven Hippler agreed that lifting the gag order would protect the First Amendment rights of the public and press.

"The primary purpose of the non-dissemination order, which is to ensure that we can seat an impartial jury, is no longer at play," Hippler said. He said he could not justify continuing the gag order because the public has the right to receive information about the case, and those rights are "paramount."

Dig deeper:

A different judge in Moscow, Idaho, originally issued the gag order early in the case, saying additional publicity could harm Kohberger’s right to a fair trial.

Families of murdered Idaho students react to Kohberger plea deal

The families of the University of Idaho students killed in 2022 are "furious" over Bryan Kohberger taking a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.

Kohberger admitted to breaking into the rental home through a sliding door and killing the four friends, Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, who had no connection with him.

Prosecutors said he spent months carefully planning the attack, and that his studies as a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University helped him take steps to cover up his tracks.

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Read Bryan Kohberger's signed killer confession

Bryan Kohberger put his guilt in writing and signed the bottom – without giving any explanation for the Idaho student murders that left four college students dead in a home invasion massacre days before they would have gone home for Thanksgiving in November 2022.

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