Idaho Murders Update: Here's Why Bryan Kohberger Can't Plead Insanity In His Case

A criminologist said Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the November 2022 killings of four University of Idaho students, will be unable to plead not guilty by insanity due to state law.

Dr. Casey Jordan, an attorney and criminology professor at Western Connecticut University, told King-TV5 that she expects Kohberger's defense attorney to blame another person or possibly an "alter ego" for the murders, as the suspect's counsel asked Idaho's Latah County Court to give them six months to gather evidence in an attempt to identify alternative suspects.

"I'm expecting a really multi-layered defense that blames someone else, either another person or, get ready for it, an alter ego," Jordan said.

But Jordan pointed out that Idaho is one of the few states that doesn't accept mental illnesses as a defense.

She also suggested that Kohberger loves attention and that the suspect may "stonewall" the court proceedings to keep his name in the news for a long time.

"I think he loves the attention. If he starts talking well, then the cameras go away. I think he will be a stonewall, if you will, not talking, not confessing, not giving us any clues pleading not guilty, demanding a trial to keep his name in the news," Jordan told the outlet.

The criminologist added that Idaho prosecutors may put capital punishment on the table for a possible plea deal.

Jordan said prosecutors could demand, as part of the plea bargain, that Kohberger describe "in very clear detail" what he did on the night of the murders.

Jordan's remarks came after Kohberger waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing Tuesday.

Kootenai County public defender Anne Taylor, Kohberger's defense lawyer, said waiving the 14-day deadline would give her more time to review the evidence, Fox News reported.

Criminal defense attorney Richard Blok told NewsNation that Kohberger's move to waive his right to have the hearing within 14 days would buy his defense more time to do their own independent investigation.

Blok suggested that the defense will try to establish trust with the suspect and gather trial experts to examine the evidence presented by the prosecution.

But Blok said the prosecution could also use the time to fill in the gaps in their evidence and dig for more information from Kohberger's cellphones and computers.

Kohberger, a Washington State University criminal justice graduate student, was arrested in Pennsylvania earlier this month after he was accused of stabbing to death Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, in an off-campus apartment home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.

He was extradited to Idaho from his home state of Pennsylvania to face four counts of murder and one count of burglary.

Kohberger's preliminary hearing is set for June 26 and is expected to take about five days.