Legal Analysts Weigh-in on Bryan Kohberger's Defense Strategy

Just after a "statistical match" was linked between the knife sheath and suspected University of Idaho killer Bryan Kohberger, legal analysts discussed with Newsweek his defense method of "standing silent".

"Standing silent is essentially a not guilty plea. The judge can't force Kohberger to speak because of the Fifth Amendment, so when Kohberger stood silent, the judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf," Neama Rahmani, the President of West Coast Trial Lawyers and former federal prosecutor told Newsweek. "The only practical reasons to stand silent are to avoid additional media attention or to not upset the victims and try to work out a deal with the prosecution."

The comments by Rahmani come just a few days after Idaho prosecutors released a new court document which stated that Kohberger's DNA taken via buccal (mouth) swab was a "statistical match" to the DNA found on a knife sheath that was recovered at the victim's home.

In December, Kohberger, 28, was arrested at his parent's residence in Pennsylvania and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. The arrested stemmed from a lengthy investigation into the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20 and Xana Kernodle, 20.

As Rahmani noted, when Kohberger decided to stand silent at his arraignment, the judge overseeing the case entered not-guilty pleas for each of the charges.

Michael McAuliffe, an elected state attorney and former federal prosecutor told Newsweek, "It's unclear whether there is a strategic reason why Kohberger remained mute when asked to enter an initial plea."

According to McAuliffe, a not-guilty plea is entered by the court when a defendant "doesn't offer an affirmative plea at arraignment.

"That's because a guilty plea involves a set of constitutional protections that need to be waived and given up in order to enter a guilty plea in a felony case," McAuliffe said.

Despite the court entering a not guilty plea at his arraignment, Kohberger has never explicitly said that he was innocent or that police have arrested the wrong person for the crimes. When he was arrested in Pennsylvania, his attorney representing his extradition hearing said that his client was "eager to be exonerated."

Criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos also spoke to Newsweek about a possible defense strategy and said, "Given the protective order and sealing of so much information, it is very difficult to know what the strategy is although there are some glimpses."

"The attempt to call witnesses to testify at the now nonexistent preliminary hearing combined with other 'leaks' has me more inclined to believe that this will be a more traditional defense of attacking the timeline," Geragos added.

Newsweek reached out to Kohberger's public defender, Anne Taylor, via email for comment.