Judge tells attorneys to stop being so secretive in quadruple murder case

BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho judge is warning attorneys to quit filing so many sealed documents in the murder case of a man accused in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students.

Bryan Kohberger’s defense attorneys and prosecutors have made secrecy the norm rather than an exception, 4th District Judge Steven Hippler wrote in a court order on Monday.

“This runs counter to the public’s First Amendment rights to know what is going on in its courts,” Hippler wrote. He ordered the attorneys to use the least restrictive steps necessary to protect confidential information in the case, such as redacting some lines or using initials instead of an individual’s full name.

Kohberger is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, students who were killed in the early morning of Nov. 13, 2022, at a rental home near their campus in Moscow, Idaho. When asked to enter a plea last year, Kohberger stood silent, prompting a judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.

Hippler’s directive came as a flurry of new motions were filed ahead of the August trial, including a sealed defense motion to take the death penalty off the table that cited autism spectrum disorder.

Other sealed motions include one on whether the terms “psychopath” or “sociopath” can be used during the trial, and one from prosecutors about the presence of immediate family members in the courtroom during the trial. Some of the currently sealed documents will be redacted and made public, and others will remain sealed, the judge ruled.

A trial is expected to begin Aug. 11 and last for more than three months.