University of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger has been indicted by a grand jury.
Mr Kohberger is accused of murdering students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chaping at the victims’ off-campus residence on 13 November. He was arrested at his family home in Pennsylvania on 30 December after investigators gathered several pieces of evidence allegedly linking him to the crime.
A preliminary hearing, where prosecutors had to show a judge that there is enough evidence to justify moving forward with charges of burglary and four counts of murder, was previously scheduled for 26 June.
However, on Tuesday, a grand jury indicted MrKohberger on the same charges, effectively rerouting the case directly to the state’s felony court level and allowing prosecutors to skip the preliminary hearing process, the Associated Press reported.
The former Washington State University PhD student is now expected to appear for his arraignment at the Latah County District Court at 9am on Monday to enter a plea.
According to the indictment, Mr Kohberger is charged with four counts of murder in the first degree and one count of burglary.
Each murder count states that he “did wilfully, unlawfully, deliberately, with premeditation and with malice aforethought, kill and murder” each of the victims by stabbing.
The list of witnesses who testified before the grand jury is sealed. Mr Kohberger’s indictment means that the jurors empanelled on the grand jury believed there was enough evidence against him for the case to proceed to trial.
Mr Kohberger said through a public defender earlier this year that he “was eager to be exonerated.” He was linked to the crimes by DNA evidence, cellphone data and surveillance video of what prosecutors believe is his white Hyundai Elantra leaving the scene, according to the arrest affidavit.
Another roommate, who survived the attack, was also able to partially describe the killer to investigators after she came face-to-face with him. The murder weapon, a fixed-blade knife, was not recovered during searches and remains missing.
Two warrants obtained by The Independent show that investigators collected a Glock .40 calibre gun, empty gun magazines, a knife, a pocket knife, black face masks, black gloves, electronic devices, and clothing items from the home of Mr Kohberger’s parents in Pennsylvania where he was arrested.
The family home was raided on 30 December, the same day that a search was also carried out at Mr Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman, Washington a 15-minute drive from the crime scene in Moscow.
The Washington warrant revealed that investigators seized a “collection of dark red” spotting and a pillow with a “reddish/brown stain” at Mr Kohberger’s apartment. At least two items seized from that search tested positive for blood.
