Bryan Kohberger’s lawyers call surprise witness in attempt to poke holes in evidence that he was at grisly University of Idaho murder scene
Lawyers for Idaho quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger called a surprise witness on Thursday — likely telegraphing their attempt to poke holes in a prosecutors’ evidence that he was at the scene of the grisly killings.
Kohberger’s attorneys called Moscow Police Department Detective Lawerence Mowery to the stand for a hearing about whether prosecutors are doing enough to turn over evidence to the defense.
Public defender Anne Taylor grilled Mowery about about cell tower data he had gathered as part of the investigation into the November 2022 murders.
She asked him to walk through in meticulous detail the process he he used to collect that data, which prosecutors are using to allege Kohberger was the man who killed students University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, and Xana Kernodle.
Cell phone data suggesting Kohberger was in the vicinity of the off-campus house where the students were stabbed to death was one of the primary pieces of evidences that led to Kohberger being charged in the murders that shocked the nation.
At the hearing Thursday, Mowery was asked whether he had ever deleted files during his investigation, and whether the evidence presented to the defense was the full extent of the cell phone data he collected during his investigation.
Despite the lengthy questioning, the state offered no substantial input on the defense team’s claim that evidence was being withheld from discovery, according to KHQ.
Kohberger’s lawyers have been adamant that prosecutors are holding out evidence, which they believe may be critical to their ability to defend Kohberger.
“The state knows full well what they have and what they’re withholding from us,” said Taylor at a hearing earlier this month, according to the Idaho Statesman.
“We don’t know what they’re going to show, but we know they exist.”
Prosecutors claim a white Hyundai Elantra seen on video at least four different near the victims’ home the night of the murder was Kohberger’s — but the defense has complained full footage of those drive-bys hasn’t been released.
The 29-year-old criminology graduate student’s defense claim there is cellphone data that will exonerate him.
They have previously attempted to have the case thrown out, citing a lack of evidence, but were unsuccessful.
