Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger fights to delay trial over fears of unrest: Live updates

Todd Murphy tells the court that media coverage of Kohberger's case was greater in Latah County – where the murders took place – than in Ada County.

Elisa Massoth, one of Kohberger’s defense attorneys, calls the first witness of the day.

Todd Murphy, president of TrueScope, is on the witness stand.

TrueScope is a media monitoring service.

After a 15-minute delay, Bryan Kohberger’s hearing has begun.

Bryan Kohberger’s hearing will be streamed live on Judge John Judge’s YouTube page.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. local time (12 p.m. EST).

Where the Moscow Murder House once stood, there is now an empty lot.

The off-campus house where the four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death was razed to the ground on December 28, 2023, during the school break.

Demolition began before sunrise and within two hours the three-story building was gone.

Some of America's most notorious murders occurred in private homes.

Many have been demolished – some have become tourist attractions.

Andrea Cavallier Reports:

The family of Kaylee Goncalves posted photos of the slain University of Idaho student on Facebook Thursday morning and asked for prayers as they travel to Moscow for Bryan Kohberger's change of venue hearing.

“Please pray for us today. We are going to Moscow for the change of venue hearing. This is a big day for our family. We are eagerly awaiting it.”

The defense wants to move the trial forward because a “mob mentality” has developed against him in Latah County.

Prosecutors, however, argue that if the case were tried elsewhere, it would place an undue burden on the students' families.

Following Kohberger's hearing today, during which the defense will present its motion for a change of venue, several more court dates will be scheduled before the Idaho murder suspect's trial in 2025.

A hearing on the motion to challenge the death penalty will take place on November 7.

A final pretrial hearing will take place on April 13, 2025.

The trial against Kohberger is scheduled to begin on June 2 and last until the end of August. There will be no court hearings on June 19 and July 4.

A former roommate of the murdered University of Idaho students spoke earlier this year about the moment she realized her friends were dead.

Ashlin Couch told KXLY that she moved into the doomed off-campus house on King Road in Moscow, Idaho, with her friends Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen in 2020. She moved out in May 2022 and Xana Kernodle took over the lease.

Six months later, Goncalves, 21, Mogen, 21, Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle's boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death in the college dorm.

In an emotional interview, Couch recalled the moment she received an alert about a murder on King Road that still haunts her.

She said she sent Mogen one final text message, asking, “Are you OK?” But she never received a response.

Authorities believe the students were killed sometime between 3 and 4 a.m. on Sunday, November 13, 2022.

All four were stabbed with a “sharp weapon, such as a knife.”

There were no signs of forced entry, the door appeared to be unlocked, and it appeared that nothing had been stolen.

Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt said the victims were “probably asleep” when they were killed, as all four were found in bed and stabbed multiple times.

According to Latah County records, a car that appeared to be Kohberger's vehicle was spotted on multiple surveillance cameras near the students' residence between 3:29 and 4:20 a.m. before reappearing in Pullman near the WSU campus at 5:25 a.m.

Io Dodds looked back at the chronology of the case last November on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the murders.

Goncalves and Mogen, both 21, were in their final year at the University of Idaho and were expected to graduate this year.

At a vigil a few weeks after the murders, Goncalves' father recounted how the two “absolutely beautiful” young women met in sixth grade and became inseparable.

Kernodle and Chapin, both 20, were in their third year of college and began dating months before her death.

Six months after the stabbings, the families of the killed students received posthumous awards for their achievements.

You can read more about it below.