Bryan Kohberger arraigned; not guilty plea entered for Idaho murder suspect

LATAH COUNTY, Idaho — A judge entered a not guilty plea Monday for the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students at an off-campus home in November.

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Wearing an orange jumpsuit, 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger appeared Monday in a Latah County courthouse for his arraignment. He spoke up to confirm that he understood his rights and the charges against him but otherwise kept his silence.

Kohberger faces burglary and first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. The four were found stabbed to death on Nov. 13 at a home that Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle shared with two others.

When Latah County District Judge John Judge asked whether Kohberger was prepared to enter a plea Monday, his attorney, Anne Taylor, said he would “be standing silent.”

“Because Mr. Kohberger is standing silent, I’m going to enter not guilty pleas to each charge,” Judge said.

If convicted on the murder charges, Kohberger could face the death penalty. It was not immediately clear Monday whether prosecutors planned to seek a death sentence.

Kohberger was arrested late last year in Pennsylvania after testing linked him to DNA found on a leather knife sheath recovered from near one of the victims, authorities said. He had been a Ph.D. student studying criminology at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, about 10 miles from the scene of the killings. Police said cellphone records showed that Kohberger had visited the area at least a dozen times between June 2022 and November 2022.

A motive for the killings remained unclear Monday.

A six-week trial for Kohberger is scheduled to begin Oct. 2.