Lawyers for Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students in 2022, are planning to use cell phone tower data to provide an alibi for him. The murders took place in mid-November 2022 at a home in Moscow, Idaho, where the university is located. Court documents state that Kohberger was out driving in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, and cell tower data shows his mobile device was not at the location where the murders occurred, but rather south of Pullman, Washington, and west of Moscow, Idaho.
Investigators had found cell tower data from that morning showing Kohberger’s phone in Pullman around 2:47 a.m., after which it stopped connecting to the network. Two hours later, it reappeared south of Moscow and headed back toward Pullman. At the time of his arrest, about six weeks after the murders, Kohberger was a Ph.D. criminology student and teaching assistant at Washington State University’s Pullman campus. Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania. His lawyer has requested a change of venue, citing extensive pretrial publicity and the small size of the community where the murders took place.
The defense alibi notice stated that more information about Kohberger’s location the night of the murders will be provided once discovery requested from the State is provided. Kohberger’s attorney also mentioned that critical exculpatory evidence corroborating his alibi may have been withheld. The attorney is arguing that a fair trial for Kohberger cannot be guaranteed in Latah County due to the inflammatory pretrial publicity, allegations made by the media, and the severity of the charges he faces. The county’s prosecutor has opposed the venue change request, and a hearing on the motion is scheduled for May 14, 2024.
Kohberger is facing four counts of murder in the students’ stabbing deaths. At his arraignment, Kohberger did not respond when asked how he pleaded, so not guilty pleas were entered for him by the judge. Prosecutors have indicated that they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted. The case has attracted significant media attention, and the defense is using cell phone tower data to refute the accusations against Kohberger. With the upcoming hearing on the change of venue motion, the legal proceedings in Kohberger’s case are expected to further unfold in 2024.
