Bryan Kohberger, the man suspected of slaughtering four Idaho college students in 2022, may face the death penalty if convicted, despite his recent autism diagnosis, a judge ruled Thursday.
Kohberger is accused of murdering University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen at a home near the Moscow campus.
Local Ada County District Judge Steven Hippler originally said Kohberger could face execution if convicted. But Kohberger’s defense team asked Hippler afterward to strike the death penalty due to Kohberger’s diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.
Kohberger’s team argued that sentencing an autistic person to death would constitute cruel and unusual punishment, which is prohibited under the Eighth Amendment.
“Mr. Kohberger’s autism spectrum disorder (ASD) reduces his culpability, negates the retributive and deterrent purposes of capital punishment, and exposes him to the unacceptable risk that he will be wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death,” Kohberger’s attorneys wrote in court filings.
But prosecutors pointed to Supreme Court precedent that says only intellectual disabilities exclude someone from facing the death penalty. Prosecutors also said that Kohberger’s autism diagnosis is “without accompanying intellectual ... impairment.”
Kohberger’s trial will begin in Boise, Idaho on August 11. It’s expected to last until November.
Kohberger, 30, was a criminology student at Washington State University just 10 miles from the University of Idaho’s campus. He was arrested in his home state of Pennsylvania six weeks after the murders. Investigators say they found his DNA on a knife sheath they found at the scene.
All four students were stabbed to death multiple times, and were likely asleep when they were attacked, autopsies revealed.
Kohberger has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The case was recently moved to Boise after the defense successfully argued that Kohberger would not have an impartial jury in the tight-knit community of Moscow because of the extensive media coverage potentially tainting the jury pool.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
