Judge moves Idaho murder trial to new venue

An Idaho judge has agreed to move the trial of Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022.

Judge John Judge granted a motion filed by Mr Kohberger's lawyers, who sought to change the venue because they argued that a local jury would be too biased to give Mr Kohberger a fair trial.

The judge agreed after considering the evidence and "the extreme nature of the news coverage" pre-trial.

The new location of June 2025 trial has not yet been set.

The fatal stabbings of the four University of Idaho students - Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen - in their off-campus home days before Thanksgiving in 2022 rocked the small college town of Moscow, Idaho.

Mr Kohberger, a Washington State University graduate student in criminology, was arrested for the killings in December 2022 in his home state of Pennsylvania.

Mr Kohberger says through his lawyer that he is innocent.

In an order on Friday, Mr Judge said the courthouse did not have the resources to accommodate the high-profile case and that Mr Kohberger was unlikely to get a fair trial in the small town.

"It is undisputed that there has been significant media coverage in this case throughout the State and nationally," Mr Judge wrote. "While some of the coverage has been neutral reporting of the Court proceedings, much of the coverage has been sensationalized and prejudicial to Kohberger."

Prosecutors had argued against the move, saying problems with bias among the juror pool could be resolved by bringing in a larger pool of people and questioning them more thoroughly.

It took investigators more than six weeks after the stabbings in Moscow to arrest Mr Kohberger. During this time, amateur true crime sleuths online speculated about what had happened, bringing wide attention to the case.

Prosecutors have said they have DNA evidence tying Mr Kohberger to the crime scene.

During a search of Mr Kohberger's home, police collected a knife, Glock pistol, black gloves, a black hat and a black face mask, according to court documents.

Documents also show police seized and later dismantled a white 2015 Hyundai Elantra that Mr Kohberger had occasionally driven.

Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if Mr Kohberger is found guilty.