ID prosecutors reject Bryan Kohberger's attacks on search warrants

Idaho prosecutors have rejected a flurry of Bryan Kohberger's motions to attack search warrants executed in connection with his arrest in the slaying of four college students, dissecting the defense's claims and telling the judge that there was "substantial probable cause" to seize evidence from his parents' home, his car, his devices and other places.

Bryan Kohberger is in the custody of the Ada County Sheriff's Office, according to online jail records. Along with the transfer came a new booking photo, taken when he arrived earlier this month. (Ada County Sheriffs Office)

Bryan Kohberger is in the custody of the Ada County Sheriff's Office, according to online jail records. Along with the transfer came a new booking photo, taken when he arrived earlier this month. (Ada County Sheriffs Office)

Latah County prosecuting attorney Bill Thompson wrote in part of the nine objections to Kohberger's defense efforts that the warrants in question were "based on substantial probable cause." Much of the specifics remain under seal, but prosecutors are asking the judge to reject the defense motions and allow the warrants to stand.

Last month, the defense asked Judge Steven Hippler to suppress DNA evidence, searches on Kohberger's devices and digital accounts, his car, his person and his parent's house. 

Kohberger is facing four first-degree murder charges and a felony burglary charge in connection with the early morning massacre of four University of Idaho students around 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022.

Idaho-teens-last-photo.jpg

Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, along with the women's two other roommates in Kaylee Goncalves' final Instagram post, shared the day before the slayings. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

Prosecutors allege he snuck into a house near the University of Idaho campus – as some of them were asleep – and killed them with a large knife. A surviving housemate told detectives she saw a masked man with "bushy eyebrows" after overhearing crying and sounds of a struggle. 

The victims were Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21, their housemate Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, also 20.

Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at the nearby Washington State University, was arrested weeks later at his parents' house in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains.

Police found a Ka-Bar knife sheath under Mogen's body that prosecutors say contained Kohberger's DNA. Kohberger drove a white Hyundai Elantra, the same type of car investigators identified as the suspect vehicle, and allegedly turned his phone off before heading to and from the crime scene, according to the affidavit. Police, citing phone records, also alleged that he stalked the victims' home on a dozen occasions before the murders and drove by once more hours after. 

Prosecution's objection to the defendant's motion to suppress

A judge entered not guilty pleas on Kohberger's behalf at his arraignment in May 2023.

The defense team, led by Anne Taylor, Jay Logsdon and Elisa Massoth, is seeking a Franks hearing, where they hope to have the warrants thrown out. They previously told the court they "firmly" believe their client is innocent.

Such hearings are rarely granted and even more rarely successful, experts tell Fox News Digital.

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Bryan KohbergerIdahoIdaho Students KilledWashington State University