Police May Have Missed Crucial Detail in Idaho Murder Case: Attorney

The search warrant for Bryan Kohberger's Washington apartment remains sealed, and a judge's reasoning behind it may indicate that police missed something in their investigation, according to a criminal defense attorney.

Attorney Mark Geragos recently appeared on NewsNation's Cuomo and spoke about the possible reason why a judge in Whitman County, Washington, ordered the search warrant for Kohberger's residence to remain sealed until March.

Kohberger, who maintains his innocence, said earlier through his lawyer that he expects to be exonerated.

"Premature public disclosure of the details of this law enforcement investigation will create a serious and imminent threat to law enforcement, and could result in the premature end of this investigation which could create a threat to public safety," a judge wrote in an order keeping the warrant sealed, KREM 2 News in Washington reported.

While speaking about the specific wording, Geragos said "that tells me that there's something there that they don't want out yet or something that they missed and they're afraid if it got out, there would be public, what I call, blowback."

"I will tell you, I've seen I can't tell you how many thousands of warrants that have been sealed, rarely have I seen one where the reason centered on the threat to law enforcement," Geragos added.

On November 13, four University of Idaho students were found fatally stabbed in an off-campus residence. The four victims were identified as Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20.

Over a month later, 28-year-old Kohberger was arrested by authorities in Pennsylvania at his parent's residence and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary.

Shortly after his arrest in Pennsylvania, Kohberger's attorney representing him in an extradition trial, Jason LaBar, issued a statement saying that his client was "eager to be exonerated."

Jennifer Coffindaffer, a former FBI agent, also spoke about the language used in keeping the search warrant sealed, calling it "unusual."

"Particularly since we have the complaint affidavit unsealed, why aren't they unsealing those search warrants?" Coffindaffer asked. "It's not making a lot of sense."

Coffindaffer's comments were referring to the probable cause affidavit that was released earlier this month, detailing evidence relating to Kohberger's arrest.

While speaking further with Newsweek on Friday, Geragos said that in his experience, he has rarely seen "threats to law enforcement" used as a reason for keeping a search warrant sealed.

"My surmise or speculation is that there is some investigative thread or leads that were missed or are being pursued that would cause great public consternation," Geragos told Newsweek.

Thomas O'Connor, senior consultant for The Soufan Group and a retired FBI agent, told Newsweek that executing a search warrant at Kohberger's apartment at Washington State University is "common sense" and noted that keeping it sealed at this point "is a wise maneuver."

"They're just playing their cards close to the vest and that's smart," O'Connor said, adding that it's not out of the ordinary to keep the warrant sealed at this time.

In addition to the search warrant being sealed, a judge in Latah County, Idaho, issued a gag order, barring anyone involved in the investigation from speaking with media members as the case moves through the courts.