Idaho Murders Update: Bryan Kohberger's Attorneys Claims 'Grotesquely Twisted' Coverage Threatens Fair Trial

The legal team representing Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, is asking a judge to keep a gag order in place following "grotesquely twisted" media coverage that threatens the murder suspect's right to a fair trial.

In court filings made public Friday, Jay Weston Logsdon with the Kootenai County Public Defender's office argued against a request filed by 30 news organizations to lift the gag order prohibiting attorneys, law enforcement agencies, and others connected to the case from speaking or writing it.

"What the media really seeks here is a procedural victory, knowing full well it cannot win on the merits of any test, given the pervasive and grotesquely twisted nature of media coverage that has occurred thus far," Logsdon wrote.

Kohberger, 28, faces one count of felony burglary and four counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Ethan Chapin, 20; and Xana Kernodle, 20. The four students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.

The incident has since received widespread media coverage, which only grew following Kohberger's Dec. 30, 2022 arrest. Shortly after Kohberger's arrest, a judge issued the gag order, which was later extended to the attorneys representing the victims' families and potential witnesses.

Although the request filed by the news organizations and a separate challenge by a lawyer representing a victim's family both alleged the gag order violated the right to free speech, Logsdon insisted the court was justified to limit public discussions about the case.

"This is not a case where the attorneys seek to use the rules as a weapon against one another. It is a case where a young man is on trial for his life," Logsdon stated.

"There was nothing inappropriate about the Magistrate Court reminding the attorneys involved of their ethical obligations."

Logsdon also noted that the news outlets failed to go through the proper channels of filing their complaint in lower courts and instead went straight to Idaho's Supreme Court.

"This Court should find that the Petitioners failed to raise their issues before the Magistrate Court in the first instance, and this Petition is premature," Logsdon wrote.

"Further, this Court should find that the second part of the Amended Nondissemination Order in this matter merely echoes the ethical rules already binding on the attorneys and their agents and required no additional consideration or findings to be entered."

Kohberger, who waived his rights to a speedy trial, is expected to return to court on June 26 to enter his plea.