Key Bryan Kohberger Defense Play Unlikely To Succeed—Attorney

A key strategy that lawyers for Bryan Kohberger will look to use is unlikely to succeed, a prominent criminal defense attorney has told Newsweek ahead of the suspect's next court appearance on charges of killing four Idaho students.

"One of the very first things that the defense will consider [is] asking the court to try to move it to a place where he'll get a more fair trial," according to Duncan Levin, managing partner of Levin & Associates in New York.

The "intense publicity" surrounding the case "has to be considered," Levin said, because it may "make it difficult for him to get a fair trial."

Kohberger, a criminology PhD student and teaching assistant at Washington State University, is facing four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.

The bodies of the four University of Idaho students were discovered in the women's shared house in the town of Moscow on November 13.

Kohberger, 28, was arrested at his family home in Pennsylvania on December 30. He then waived his extradition rights and was transported to Latah County for court appearances.

A heavy media presence followed his arrival at Latah County Jail, and he made his first appearance in an Idaho court on January 5.

Levin, a former federal prosecutor, said Kohberger's defense was "likely to move" for a change of venue, but would face an "uphill battle" because of the "international" reach of the publicity around the case.

"I'd say it's exceedingly unlikely that a change of venue motion is going to be granted, in part because there's no reason to believe that the publicity has been worse in Idaho than it is anywhere else," Levin said.

"This is a case that everyone in the world knows about," which means there may not be a "place that would offer him a jury pool that has not heard of the case."

Kohberger is expected in court on Thursday morning for a preliminary status hearing. The hearing was originally scheduled for 10 a.m. local time at Latah County Courthouse, but was changed to 8 a.m. after a "scheduling conflict," according to British news outlet The Independent.

His attorney during the extradition case, Jason LaBar, said Kohberger was "eager to be exonerated" and was "looking forward to resolving these matters as promptly as possible."

Kohberger has not yet entered a plea in Idaho. His defense attorney, Anne Taylor, has been contacted for comment.