Bryan Kohberger: Father of Idaho murders victim says she was ‘trapped’ as judge considers camera ban

Both the defence and the prosecution have asked to restrict cameras as the case of the brutal slayings of four University of Idaho students continues to attract national attention

Judge in Kohberger case concerned coverage could 'spin out of control'

The father of a University of Idaho murder victim has claimed there was evidence that his daughter tried to escape her murderer.

Families of the victims spoke with CBS News’ Peter Van Sant for a special on the murders that will be aired on Saturday. It comes just days after the sole suspect in the Moscow quadruple murders, Bryan Kohberger, appeared in court for a hearing where a judge heard arguments on cameras in the courtroom.

“There’s evidence to show that she awakened and tried to get out of that situation, [but] she was assaulted and stabbed,” Steve Goncalves said of his daughter, Kaylee Goncalves.

On Wednesday, both the defence and the prosecution asked to restrict cameras as the brutal slayings of four university students continue to attract national attention. The hearing ended with no decision on the matter.

Latah County District Judge John Judge said other trials with cameras have “spun out of control” and that what is happening is “not entertainment, [but] a tragic issue.”

Mr Kohberger, the former criminology PhD student, was indicted earlier this year in the November 2022 killings of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

Key points

• Bryan Kohberger to appear in court today
• Families of Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle want cameras in court
• Prosecutors and defence want cameras banned from trial

[15 September 2023 10:00 · Andrea Blanco]

Who is Bryan Kohberger?

Speculation and rumour have swirled in the months following Bryan Kohberger’s arrest, as conspiracists and armchair detectives paint all manner of pictures of the accused killer.

But who really is the former PhD student?

The Independent’s Sheila Flynn reports:

[15 September 2023 12:00 · Andrea Blanco]

Four students stabbed to death, a weeks-long manhunt but no motive

The murder of four college students in the quiet town of Moscow, Idaho, last November unravelled a months-long investigation that is now headed to trial.

The victims, all students at the University of Idaho, were ambushed in their rooms and stabbed to death with a military-style knife that has yet to be found. Police were called to the gruesome scene at the off-campus residence almost eight hours after the vicious attack.

For weeks, only scant details about the carnage were revealed as the community reeled from the tragedy and grappled with fears of a murderer on the loose. That changed with the December arrest of Washington State University student Bryan Kohberger, whose apartment, office and family home were raided and searched for evidence.

While more information has become public through the release of search warrants and arrest records in recent months, a gag order in the case remains in place and most aspects of the probe and its findings are still a mystery.

Here, The Independent takes a deep dive into the developments in the complex case:

[15 September 2023 13:00 · Andrea Blanco]

Defence wants news cameras out of the courtroom

Attorneys for a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death late last year want cameras banned from the courtroom, contending that news coverage of the criminal proceedings has violated a judge’s orders and threatens his right to a fair trial.

Bryan Kohberger is charged with four counts of murder in connection with the deaths at a rental house near the university campus in Moscow, Idaho, last November.

A judge entered a not-guilty plea on Kohberger’s behalf earlier this year. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson has said he intends to seek the death penalty, and the case is scheduled for trial this fall, although it could be postponed.

In a court document filed late last month, defence attorneys Anne Taylor and Jay Logsdon said the media pool photographers and videographers violated the judge’s orders to show a wide shot of the courtroom and avoid recording images of notes on the attorneys’ tables.

Kohberger’s attorneys pointed to photos showing their client walking into the courtroom and watching the court proceedings while seated at the defence tables, as well as more zoomed-out videos that included indecipherable white papers on the defence table and part of Taylor’s laptop screen. At the time, the laptop screen was displaying images from the in-court camera system, which were also being displayed on the large courtroom projector screen throughout parts of the proceeding.

“The cameras’ continued exclusive focus on Mr. Kohberger provides fodder for observers and purported ‘analysts’ on social media, who are not bound by notions of journalistic integrity and who have potentially an even greater reach than traditional media outlets,” the defence attorneys wrote, pointing out unflattering posts about Kohberger on X, formerly known as Twitter.

AP

[15 September 2023 14:00 · Andrea Blanco]

Kaylee Goncalves’s father said she tried to escape murderer

Families of the victims spoke with CBS News’ Peter Van Sant for a special on the murders that will be aired on Saturday.

It comes just days after the sole suspect in the Moscow quadruple murders, Bryan Kohberger, appeared in court for a hearing where a judge heard arguments on cameras in the courtroom.

“There’s evidence to show that she awakened and tried to get out of that situation, [but] she was assaulted and stabbed,” Steve Goncalves said of his daughter, Kaylee Goncalves.