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Kohberger's defense wants evidence tossed
The defense in the Idaho murders trial is trying to poke as many holes as it can in the state's case before it even goes to court.
SEATTLE - A local legal analyst and attorney doubts the defense’s efforts to get evidence thrown out in the Idaho murders trial will make it to court, however she said it could still have an impact on the case.
The defense team of the accused quadruple murderer, Bryan Kohberger, is requesting to throw out key evidence in the case.
Kohberger’s attorneys base their requests on what they say is a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights, which protects people from unreasonable search and seizures.
His defense team says police illegally obtained the alleged killer’s DNA through genetic genealogy, and his data from illegally obtained digital histories through his media accounts and cell phone records.
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Police previously stated Kohberger’s cell phone placed him at the scene of the murders about a dozen times before the actual killings.
"In this case, it was, of course, enormously important because that is how they identified Kohberger, by looking at genetic testing results on DNA, from potential family members," said Anne Bremner.
Bremner is an attorney and legal analyst with decades of experience as both a prosecutor and defense attorney.
She tells FOX 13 Seattle, if the judge does side with the defense, the impact will be pivotal to the results of the trial.
"It’s like a house of cards. If this fails, then everything fails, and the case is gone. But the odds of that happening are extremely slim," she said.
Bremner said even though a judge most likely will not side with the defense, the request to toss out the evidence may still have an impact.
"What they {the defense} want to do is poke holes in everything in the case. Everything in this case," she said. "To the public, it seems like there is overwhelming evidence of guilt, and that may not be what the case is as it is produced to a jury," Bremner added.
Bremner said these requests from the defense could lay seeds of doubt in the jury’s mind, or set up a strategy for after the verdict.
"Every little thing and every big thing that you raise, you have to think about appeal. Like, ‘we may lose this, but that’s an appeal. This is a good issue, and we may not win on that, but it’s an appeal,’" she said.
A hearing on the defense’s request is scheduled for January 23.
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