Bryan Kohberger judge could slap contempt charges on leakers: Idaho-based lawyer

An Idaho-based lawyer says the justice overseeing the Bryan Kohberger quadruple execution lawsuit could authorisation the prosecution oregon defence squad for contempt of tribunal aft caller accusation was leaked to a media outlet.

A TV occurrence astir the Bryan Kohberger probe aired connected May 9, and featured caller hunt records, surveillance video and cellphone records. Kohberger is accused of killing Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20.

Information shared during the "Dateline" occurrence included surveillance video from a neighboring house, which showed a car akin to Kohberger's successful the King Road country respective times earlier the 4 University of Idaho students were killed.

The occurrence besides claimed that FBI cellphone operation information showed that Kohberger's telephone pinged astir a twelve times adjacent a operation that provides sum to the country wrong 100 feet of 1122 King Road, wherever the 4 University of Idaho students were killed. The telephone pinged adjacent the operation starting successful July 2022 and continued done mid-August 2022.

IDAHO MURDER SUSPECT'S LAWYERS DEMAND TRIAL POSTPONEMENT OVER 'PREJUDICIAL' TV SPECIAL

Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his arraignment proceeding successful Latah County District Court, May 22, 2023, successful Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger is accused of sidesplitting 4 University of Idaho students successful November 2022. (Zach Wilkinson-Pool/Getty Images)

In a May 15 order, Judge Steven Hippler said the gag bid was "likely" violated by idiosyncratic progressive successful the case, saying it's imaginable instrumentality enforcement was the root of the leak. He ordered anyone who has worked for the defence squad oregon probe to clasp each communications and information relating to 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.

Tara Jalali Malek, an Idaho-based lawyer and erstwhile adjunct United States attorney, told Fox News Digital that Hippler could clasp the prosecution oregon defence squad accountable if it's recovered the leak came from them.

BRYAN KOHBERGER CASE LEAK COULD LEAD TO EXCLUDED EVIDENCE, IDAHO ATTORNEY WARNS

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

"Violation of a court's bid is sanctionable," Malek said. "It could beryllium contempt of court, and contempt tin beryllium civilian contempt oregon it could beryllium transgression contempt. That is going to beryllium wholly abstracted from what happens yet successful the trial, but things that you spot with contempt, determination could beryllium a fine. There could beryllium a nationalist reprimand, for instance. So there's a assortment of things that the tribunal could perchance bash oregon not bash if it's recovered that idiosyncratic violated that gag order."

"Anyone who violated the order, nary substance what side, would beryllium held successful contempt," she added.

However, Malek said she doesn't deliberation the leak volition effect successful the proceedings being delayed, arsenic Kohberger's defence team has requested.

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Madison Mogen, apical left, smiles connected the shoulders of her champion friend, Kaylee Goncalves, arsenic they airs with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and 2 different housemates successful Goncalves' last Instagram post, shared the time earlier the 4 students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

"I would beryllium hard-pressed to deliberation that the full proceedings would halt arsenic a effect of this," she said. "I deliberation what is astir likely, successful my opinion, to hap is that the proceedings volition determination forward. This volition beryllium connected a abstracted way arsenic acold arsenic the probe goes and figuring retired who leaked the information, which broadside was it from. And past ultimately, who else, if anybody was progressive oregon had cognition of it, oregon similar I said, it was conscionable a rogue histrion present that, you know, needs to beryllium personally sanctioned successful immoderate way."

As the proceedings is scheduled to statesman connected Aug. 11, different astonishment witnesser has emerged.

A pistillate claiming to beryllium a DoorDash operator says she dropped disconnected nutrient for Xana Kernodle conscionable minutes earlier Kohberger allegedly killed the assemblage student. The purported operator came to airy aft a YouTube account, Officer Axon, obtained assemblage camera video that featured the woman.

"I person to attest successful a large execution lawsuit here... due to the fact that I'm the DoorDash driver, truthful yeah," she says in the video. 

The serviceman past asked what lawsuit she was going to attest in.

"The execution lawsuit with the assemblage girls," she said. "I'm the DoorDash driver. I saw Bryan there. I parked close adjacent to him."