lawyer Brian KobergerThe man accused of Four University of Idaho students stabbed to death New court filings say they plan to use cell phone tower data in 2022 to show they were not in the area where the murder occurred.
Koberger is accused of killing Madison Morgen, Kaylee Gonsalves, Zana Karnodol, and Ethan Chapin at their home in Moscow, Idaho, where the university is located, in mid-November 2022.Since then, the house demolished.
Court documents proving Koberger's alibi say he was “driving out in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, as he often did, to go hiking, running, and looking at the moon and stars. He drove throughout the area south of Pullman.” Washington, west of Moscow, and Idaho, including Wawawai Park. ”
According to the document, the cell site's location experts believe that based on cell tower data, “Mr. Koberger's cell phone was located south of Pullman, Washington, and west of Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022. In fact, evidence shows that Brian Koberger's mobile device did not travel east across the Moskva River.” – Pullman Highway in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, so it may not be the vehicle captured on video along the Moscow-Pullman Highway near Floyd's marijuana store. ”
A previous affidavit states that investigators discovered cell phone tower data from that morning that showed Koberger's phone in Pullman was called at about 2:47 a.m. on the night of the murder. It showed that the connection to the mobile phone network had suddenly stopped.48 hoursIt was around this time that his car was seen on surveillance footage leaving the apartment, “48 Hours'' reported.
Two hours after his phone disappeared from the network, it reappeared south of Moscow and headed back toward Pullman, “48 Hours'' reported.
At the time of his arrest, about six weeks after the murder, Koberger was a Ph.D. A criminology student and teaching assistant at Washington State University's Pullman campus, about a 15-minute drive from Moscow. Koberger was arrested at his parents' home in Pennsylvania.
Wednesday's defense alibi notice also stated that further information about Koberger's whereabouts on the night of the murder “will be provided if the state requests discovery and is the subject of a future motion to compel.” If not disclosed, [the expert’s] Testimony will also reveal that important exculpatory evidence further supporting Mr. Koberger's alibi was not preserved or was suppressed. ”
Koberger's attorney also asked for a change of venue, the Associated Press reported. reportargued that a fair trial was not available in the area where the murder occurred.
“Due to extensive and inflammatory pretrial publicity, public media allegations about Mr. Koberger that are not admissible at trial, the small size of the community, and the vile nature of the community, Lutter County cannot afford a fair and impartial jury. “We cannot find a description of the nature of the alleged crimes and the severity of the charges Mr. Koberger faces,” attorney Ann Taylor wrote, the Associated Press reported.
The Latah County prosecutor opposed the request to change the venue, according to the Associated Press.
A hearing on the change of venue motion is scheduled for May 14, 2024, according to court documents.
Koberger is charged with four counts of murder in the stabbings of the students. Koberger did not respond to questions about how he defended himself at his arraignment, so the judge entered his not guilty plea. Prosecutors have said that if Koberger is convicted, he will seek the death penalty.
—Kelly Breen contributed reporting.