Alleged quadruple killer Bryan Kohberger appeared in a Moscow, Idaho, court for the first time Thursday, as one victim’s family stared at him from the first row of the gallery.
Magistrate Court Judge Megan Marshall read Kohberger his rights and outlined the charges against him during the appearance, asking if he understood. He gave a deadpan “Yes” while clenching his jaw.
Kohberger was also officially assigned an attorney, public defender Anne Taylor.
The 28-year-old accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students were not asked to submit a plea for the four charges of first-degree murder and one charge of burglary he faces, but he has indicated he will eventually plead not guilty.
The hearing Thursday allowed the police’s probable cause affidavit on Kohberger to be released, which finally shed light on why law enforcement arrested him Friday — ending their almost seven-week search to identify a suspect in the fatal stabbing of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, on Nov. 13.
Bryan Kohberger, left, appeared in a Moscow, Idaho, court for the first time. AP
Bryan Kohberger in cuffs at an earlier court hearing in Pennsylvania Paul MartinkaGoncalves’ parents Steve and Kristi and her brother sat in a front row and comforted each other as Kohberger entered the room around 9:42 a.m. local time in an orange jumpsuit.
When Judge Marshall read Kohberger’s charge for murdering their daughter in the first degree, the family began to weep.
Kohberger kept a straight face during the 13-minute appearance, not looking at anyone when he walked in and out and showing no emotion. During the hearing, he read over the legal documents printed out for him.
The Pennsylvania native’s legal team failed to secure bail for Kohberger after prosecutors successfully argued he was a flight risk given his arrest more than 2,500 miles from the murder scene. The judge remanded him back to Latah County Jail.
The judge also ordered the suspect not to contact any of the victim’s family, and some of their close friends, for the next two years.
Kohberger landed at the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport in Washington state around 6:30 p.m. local time Wednesday, wearing a red jumpsuit and shackles.
He was escorted off the plane by three law enforcement officers, and a police motorcade, drove him the short distance to the Latah County Jail in Idaho.
Before he was transported to the state, his defense team had already hired veteran Washington state crime scene reconstruction expert Matthew Noedel.
On Wednesday, Noedel’s team painstakingly examined the inside of the three-story house in Moscow where students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were killed on Nov. 13.
The 28-year-old accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students was not asked to submit a plea for the four charges of first-degree murder. APKohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student who attended nearby Washington State University Pullman, was arrested on Dec. 30 at his parent’s home in Monroe County, Pa.
He will appear in court next on Jan. 12 for a status hearing. His arraignment date has not been set.
