In a recent development, Idaho prosecutors have been ordered by the court to disclose a portion of the genetic genealogy evidence utilized in the investigation of Bryan Kohberger.
The specifics of the evidence to be shared remain undisclosed due to a gag order on the case and the details being filed under seal.
Judge John Judge, in a public filing, stated that after examining the contested evidence, a part of it should be made available to Kohberger's defense team. "The specific material to be provided is set forth in a sealed order to protect the privacy of the IGG (investigative genetic genealogy) information, including individuals on the family tree," he wrote.
The prosecution had previously argued that the IGG evidence was used by the police to generate leads, but not to secure any warrants in the case. Therefore, they believed it was not necessary to disclose it.
The case revolves around the murder of 21-year-old Madison Mogen, whose body was found with stab wounds in an upstairs bedroom, alongside her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, also 21. DNA was recovered from a Ka-Bar knife sheath found under Mogen's body, which investigators later allegedly matched with a sample from Kohberger's cheek swab. The other victims were Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, both 20 years old. All four victims were undergraduate students at the University of Idaho.
Kohberger, a Ph.D. student at the neighboring Washington State University, is alleged to have entered the victims' six-bedroom rental home and committed the murders. A surviving housemate reportedly saw a masked man, believed to be Kohberger, leaving through the back door.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Kohberger drove a white Hyundai Elantra, the same type of car identified by investigators as the suspect vehicle. He allegedly turned off his phone while traveling to and from the crime scene. Phone records also suggest that he had stalked the victims' home on multiple occasions prior to the murders and drove by once more hours after the incident.
Kohberger, who is currently being held without bail, had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf at his arraignment in May. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
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