Moscow Police Chief announces retirement ahead of Bryan Kohberger quadruple murder trial
Moscow, Idaho Police give update after arresting suspect charged in 4 murders
Watch the full press conference from Idaho police and prosecutors after authorities in Pennsylvania arrested a suspect in the killings of four slain Idaho students, who were found stabbed to death in their beds more than a month ago
MOSCOW, Idaho - James Fry, the Police Chief for the City of Moscow, announced his retirement this coming May before the trial of the accused University of Idaho quadruple murder suspect gets underway.
Fry started his public service career as a reserve officer with the Moscow Police Department in 1993 and was hired as a Patrol Officer in June 1995. In his nearly 29 years at the department, he has held seven ranks before serving as police chief for eight years.
"It has been my honor to serve and protect the citizens of Moscow and to contribute to the law enforcement profession throughout my career. The Moscow Police Department has embodied the ethos that to whom much is given, much will be required, and we understand the trust that is placed in our officers in serving their community. I am confident that the culture, leadership, and personnel that we have developed within the Moscow Police Department will continue and the Department will remain the excellent example of professional law enforcement that it is today," said Fry.
Fry was recently brought into the national spotlight following the murder of four University of Idaho students and the arrest of suspect Bryan Kohberger, 29, nearly two months after the killings.
Read more on the University of Idaho murders here
He and the Moscow Police Department received national criticism when the case was first unfolding, for releasing minimal information to the public and for a "miscommunication" with the prosecutor's office about whether the attacks were random.
During a 2022 interview, Fry said that little information was being released to protect the integrity of the case.
"We're always going to hold stuff back as much as we possibly can because when you’re talking about the integrity of the case, you’re talking about when this goes to trial, have you tainted jurors?" Fry said in 2022. "There’s a way bigger picture here than just people knowing. Because for it to be a fair trial, you have to have people who don’t know facts and have already made up their own opinions on them."
Kohberger's trial has yet to begin as his defense has asked for a change of venue and a possible trial date for the summer of 2025.
Over the next few weeks, the city of Moscow will begin the process for the selection and appointment of the city’s next Chief of Police.