Bryan Kohberger could escape death penalty because of leaked evidence aired during TV episode: fmr prosecutor

Idaho quadruple execution fishy Bryan Kohberger mightiness debar the decease punishment if convicted due to the fact that of leaked evidence, a erstwhile authoritative suggested.

Kohberger is accused of killing Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20. On May 9, a tv occurrence featured leaked accusation relating to the case, which Kohberger's lawyer has argued volition taint the assemblage pool.

Included successful NBC's "Dateline" peculiar connected the University of Idaho murders was surveillance video from a neighboring house, which caught a car akin to Kohberger's driving successful the King Road country respective times successful the hours and minutes earlier the 4 assemblage students were killed.

The occurrence besides featured alleged grounds from a adjacent FBI cellphone tower, which claimed to amusement that Kohberger's telephone pinged astir a twelve times adjacent a operation providing sum to an country wrong 100 feet of 1122 King Road, wherever the students were killed. The telephone allegedly pinged adjacent the operation connected aggregate occasions betwixt July 2022 and mid-August 2022.

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Bryan Kohberger successful the courtroom astatine the Latah County Courthouse successful Moscow, Idaho, connected Aug. 18, 2023. (August Frank/ Lewiston Tribune)

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital that the leak has the imaginable to region the decease punishment arsenic a punishment.

"The media leak could assistance Bryan Kohberger connected entreaty oregon perchance instrumentality the decease punishment disconnected the table. If the leak results successful prejudicial pretrial publicity that taints the assemblage pool, particularly if the leak was of inadmissible evidence, that’s a law violation," Rahmani said.

Rahmani brought up the Lori Vallow Daybell case, wherever the justice ruled that prosecutors couldn't question the decease punishment aft they didn't comply with find rules. Vallow Daybell was recovered blameworthy aft prosecutors alleged that she worked with Alex Cox, her brother, to execution her 4th husband, Charles Vallow, to person wealth from a $1 cardinal beingness security policy.

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Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his arraignment proceeding successful Latah County District Court, May 22, 2023, successful Moscow, Idaho. (Zach Wilkinson-Pool/Getty Images)

"The different ground for entreaty oregon to onslaught the decease punishment would beryllium prosecutorial misconduct oregon a usurpation of a judicial order. In a caller high-profile Idaho superior case, Lori Vallow Daybell, the tribunal ruled that prosecutors could nary longer question the decease punishment due to the fact that they failed to comply with their find obligations," Rahmani said.

On May 15, Judge Steven Hippler said a usurpation of the gag bid was "likely" committed by idiosyncratic progressive successful the case. He ordered the prosecution and Kohberger's defence squad to sphere each communications and information relating to the case, including instrumentality enforcement officers who worked connected the case.

Hippler said the pursuing pieces of grounds were revealed during the episode:

• Surveillance footage of "Suspect Vehicle One"
• AT&T records for Kohberger
• Content of Kohberger's cellphone
• Photographs and accusation associated with Kohberger's Amazon account.

"Such violations not lone undermine the regularisation of law, perchance by persons charged with upholding it, but besides importantly impede the quality to spot an impartial assemblage and volition apt substantially summation the outgo to beryllium borne by the taxpayers of Latah County to prosecute this lawsuit by extending the clip it volition instrumentality to spot a assemblage and perchance requiring lengthy play of juror sequestration," Hippler wrote.

Kohberger's lawyer, Anne Taylor, asked Hippler to hold the proceedings due to the fact that the assemblage excavation could beryllium tainted by accusation aired during the "Dateline" episode, successful summation to different reasons.

Prosecutors argued successful a tribunal filing that the airing of accusation relating to the lawsuit should not beryllium a crushed to hold August's proceedings commencement date.

"Like the tribunal successful the Vallow-Daybell trial, this Court is well-equipped to prime a jury, to grip ongoing media coverage, and to behaviour a just proceedings successful the Ada County courthouse," prosecutors wrote.

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Bryan Kohberger is escorted into a proceeding successful Latah County District Court connected Sept. 13, 2023, successful Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Timeline of Nov. 13, 2022:

• 4 a.m.: Suspect arrives astatine house
• Between 4 and 4:17: Time of murders
• 4:19: Roommate calls 3 victims; nary 1 answers
• 4:22 to 4:24: Surviving roommates substance each different from wrong house
• 4:27: Roommate calls victims again; nary 1 answers
• 4:32: Roommate texts Goncalves, "Pls answer"
• 10:23: Surviving roommate texts victims; nary 1 answers
• 11:39: Roommate calls her father
• 12 p.m.: 911 telephone placed from roommate's phone.

An amended scheduling bid filed successful Idaho’s Fourth Judicial District Court connected Thursday indicated that the proceedings volition beryllium pushed backmost 1 week. Jury enactment volition statesman connected Aug. 4, but opening statements are present expected connected Aug. 18, 1 week aboriginal than the antecedently anticipated commencement day connected Aug. 11.

A tribunal spokesperson said the updated timeline was not the effect of immoderate effort by the defence to hold the proceedings, but alternatively an interior scheduling accommodation by the court.

Fox News Digital reached retired to Kohberger's lawyer, prosecutors and NBC for comment.

Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.