Idaho Murders Suspect Bryan Kohberger’s Trial Will Not Take Place In Moscow, Judge Rules

The trial for University of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger will no longer be held in the college town of Moscow where the killings took place in 2022, a judge has ruled.

In an order filed in Latah County Court on Sept. 6 and reviewed by PEOPLE, Judge John C. Judge granted a change of venue motion previously filed by Kohberger’s defense attorneys. Judge's grounds for holding the trial — expected to start in June 2025 — in another location included the “close-knit community” of Moscow and possibly “prejudicial” media coverage, according to the filing.

“Considering the undisputed evidence presented by the defense, the extreme nature of the news coverage in this case, and the smaller population in Latah County, the defense has met the rather low standard of demonstrating a ‘reasonable likelihood’ that prejudicial news coverage will compromise a fair trial in Latah County,” the judge wrote in the filing. “Thus, the court will grant Kohberger’s motion to change venue for presumed prejudice.”

Judge also said that the courthouse lacks enough clerks to manage the jury selection process and it does not have enough space for the prosecution and defense teams. He added that the Latah County Sheriff’s Office does not have enough officers to ensure adequate security during the trial.

The filing did not specify where the new trial will take place and said another judge will oversee the criminal trial. Judge referred the case to the “administrative director of the courts,” who will make the decision as to where the trial will be held.

Kohberger has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of felony burglary in connection with the Nov. 13, 2022, stabbing deaths of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. Kohberger has pleaded not guilty. Two additional roommates in the home were unharmed and ruled out as suspects.

At the time of the slayings, Kohberger was a Ph.D student at Washington State University studying criminal justice and criminology. The university, in Pullman, Wash., is approximately eight miles away from the residence in Moscow where the four students were killed.

Kohberger was arrested in connection with the killings nearly seven weeks later while he was in Pennsylvania visiting family for the holidays. Investigators allege they tied him to the killings by using DNA evidence found on a knife sheath left at the scene in the bed where Mogen and Goncalves were found dead, according to a probable cause affidavit previously reviewed by PEOPLE.

According to the affidavit, Kohberger's phone pinged 12 times in the area of the 1122 King Road home where the killings took place on at least twelve occasions prior to Nov. 13, 2022.

Kohberger’s defense attorney claimed in a previous court filing that he was driving late at night "as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars," the filing reads.

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It also states that Kohberger was an avid runner and hiker, but adds that his hiking and running decreased during the school year, but "his nighttime drives increased."

That three-story off-campus house was demolished on Dec. 28, 2023.