Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger, who was accused of killing four Idaho students, demanded a delay in the trial.
The court-proposed invocation of NBC's recent "Dateline" special has sparked bias against Kohberger, and they now need extra time to prepare.
The defense also believes that progress will violate Koberg's constitutional rights.
Bryan Kohberger said
Bryan Kohberger entered the court for a trial hearing at the Lata County District Court in Moscow, Idaho on May 22, 2023. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022. (Zach Wilkinson-Pool/Getty Images)
“The continued motions remain unpopular due to a large amount of trial investigation and preparation, as well as recent and upcoming publicity, which is extremely biased to the defense,” the document said. “Any convictions and sentences arising from capital trials beginning in August 2025 will be unconstitutional and therefore easily reversed in direct or mortgage reviews.”
New information about the murders was provided during the NBC's "Dateline" program on May 9, including surveillance footage of nearby homes. Surveillance footage shows a car similar to Kohberger, which was in the King Road House area several times before four students were killed.
Brian Kohberger: Four counts of suspected first-degree murder and one count of theft were arrested in Monroe County, Pennsylvania in December 2022. (Ada County Sheriff's Office)
Idaho Student Murder: Bryan Kohberger's family may be asked to testify against him.
This episode also shows that some of the information aired is non-public. According to the document, the material was obtained from sources close to the investigation.
Kohberger's lawyers have also raised concerns about the upcoming book about the case. They claimed in the document that the book's promotion meant that information leaked to Dateline Crew was not the only incident.
"The continuation must be carried out to fully investigate the leak and mitigate the biased effects of this pre-trial propaganda for this inflammation," it said.
Wendy Olson, attorney for the Alliance of News Institutions, Wendy Olson, a lawyer representing the Union of News Institutions, held at a hearing in Lata County District Court, Wednesday, September 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho, in requesting that District 2 judge John C. Judge continue to allow cameras to drive in the second-place student at Bryan Kohberger’s trial, four killed four, the name that had allowed cameras at the trial at Kohberger. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, swimming pool)
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Forensic expert and Jacksonville State University professor Joseph Scott Morgan told Fox News Digital that there is a risk that the TV series on Kohberger would pollute the jury’s pool.
“I think the first place you’re going to look at is the squeeze of the pool in the jury pool,” Morgan said. “It’s getting harder and harder because people form opinions and they put things out, but you still haven’t selected the jury yet. And, that’s not to say you’re going to Manhattan.
Adam Sabes of Fox New Digital contributed to the report.