Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger reveals alibi claim in new court filing

Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in November, claims he was going for a routine drive when the killings took place, according to new court filings. 

Kohberger, 28, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. He's accused of killing Ethan Chapin, a 20-year-old from Conway, Washington; Madison Mogen, a 21-year-old from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, from Avondale, Arizona; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, from Rathdrum, Idaho. 

On Wednesday, Kohberger's attorneys objected to the state's request for an alibi of his whereabouts on the night of the murder. 

In the court documents, his attorneys claim "Mr. Kohberger has long had a habit of going for drives alone," and that he did so on the night and morning of the brutal killings. 

"Mr. Kohberger is not claiming to be at a specific location at a specific time; at this time there is not a specific witness to say precisely where Mr. Kohberger was at each moment of the hours between late night November 12, 2022, and early morning November 13, 2022," the filing said. 

His attorney said that corroborating evidence that Kohberger was not at the scene of the crime will come from the cross-examination of state's witnesses. 

"Mr. Kohberger cannot be more specific about the possible witnesses and exactly what they will say," the filing said. 

A judge entered a not guilty plea on Kohberger's behalf at his May 22 arraignment after he did not respond in court when the judge asked him how he pleaded.

At the time of the killings, Kohberger was a Ph.D. criminology student and teaching assistant at Washington State University's Pullman campus, which is only about a 15 minute drive from the home in Moscow, Idaho, where the four students were killed.

Authorities believe the victims were likely asleep when they came under attack, suffering multiple stab wounds from a large, military-style knife.

Court documents filed in the case allege Kohberger's DNA is near-exact match to the DNA found on a knife sheath at the scene of the murders.

In:
• University of Idaho