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Bryan Kohberger’s Trial Takes a Dramatic Turn as New Judge with High-Profile Murder Case Experience Steps In

Bryan Kohberger
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool)

Bryan Kohberger, the 29-year-old criminologist accused of a brutal quadruple murder, is set for a major change after spending over 18 months in the Latah County Jail in Moscow, Idaho. In a one-page order signed by Idaho’s Chief Justice Richard Bevan, Kohberger’s trial will be moved to Ada County, where a larger courthouse can accommodate the public and the expected media frenzy. District Judge Steven Hippler has been assigned to the case, bringing with him a history of overseeing high-profile murder trials.

“Judge Hippler appears to be an experienced trial judge who handles serious cases,” said David Gelman, a New Jersey-based defense attorney. “This case, of course, will be an entirely different animal given the national interest it has generated.”

Hippler has presided over numerous murder trials, including the sentencing of a drunken driver who killed two pedestrians and a case involving a man who brutally murdered his ex-girlfriend. Hippler has often agreed with prosecutors’ sentencing requests but has never imposed the death penalty, a key point as prosecutors in Kohberger’s case plan to seek the death penalty if he’s convicted.

Ada County, where Kohberger will stand trial, is Idaho’s most populous region, home to nearly 500,000 residents and the state capital, Boise. By comparison, Latah County, where Kohberger has been held, has fewer than 40,000 residents. Latah County District Judge John Judge granted the defense’s request for a change of venue, citing concerns over media bias and the potential for an unfair trial.

The defense claimed that Kohberger, accused of entering a rental home and killing four University of Idaho students on November 13, 2022, could face a “lynch mob” in Latah County if acquitted. Kohberger’s trial is expected to be held in June 2025. Legal experts, including Boise defense attorney Edwina Elcox, believe Judge Hippler will enforce strict timelines and deadlines to keep the trial on track.

Kohberger is accused of fatally stabbing Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, in their off-campus home, which has since been torn down. The case has drawn significant media attention due to its gruesome nature and ongoing legal battles, with the defense seeking to have the death penalty removed from consideration.

As the trial date approaches, all eyes will be on Judge Hippler and how he handles one of Idaho’s most highly anticipated murder trials.

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