Bryan Kohberger prosecutors will let victims’ families speak, no lay witnesses for sentencing if convicted

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Former D.C. homicide detective says Kohberger’s defense team is ‘throwing any and everything they can against the wall’

Former homicide detective and Fox News contributor Ted Williams told Fox News Digital that Bryan Kohberger’s defense team is "throwing any and everything they can against the wall" in hopes that some evidence can be thrown out.

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The prosecuting attorney in the case of Bryan Kohberger, accused of murdering four University of Idaho students, notified the court in a recent filing that the state does not intend to call lay witnesses during the penalty phase of the trial, if he is convicted. 

The prosecution wrote in the filing obtained by Fox News Digital that it “hereby provides notice that the State does not intend to call any lay witnesses during the penalty phase.”

The document was filed late last week in the District Court of the Fourth Judicial District in the State of Idaho.

Bryan Kohberger, right, is escorted into a courtroom to appear at a hearing in Latah County District Court on Sept. 13, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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“Rather, the State intends to rely on testimony and evidence admitted during the guilt phase,” the filing says. 

The state does intend to allow victim impact statements from immediate family members of the victims who are present for the potential sentencing hearing. 

Read the court filing:

Kohberger is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of four students at the University of Idaho, including Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; and Ethan Chapin, 20. He is also charged with one count of felony burglary. 

The four students were killed in a home attack on Nov. 13, 2022, near the university’s campus.

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Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court on May 22, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022. (Zach Wilkinson-Pool/Getty Images)

The state will pursue the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted. 

His defense attorney, Anne Taylor, recently found herself the object of Judge Steven Hippler’s scorn when she presented a motion to take the death penalty off the table in the case. 

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She argued that the prosecution’s discovery was so sloppy that Kohberger could not possibly review the evidence against him before his trial is scheduled to begin in August.

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Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, sits with Anne Taylor, one of his attorneys, during a hearing in Latah County District Court on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool)

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“[Kohberger] has been receiving discovery in the same manner for over two years,” Hippler wrote. “[Kohberger] has not sought additional resources…to hire additional staff to review discovery or obtain litigation document control software to help organize and sort the evidence. His lead counsel insisted that she be allowed to take on a second high-profile capital case despite the voluminous discovery in this case.”

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Hippler also added that Taylor, “indicated that her practice is to personally review all the discovery herself, rather than rely on associates and staff to review materials to cut through the less relevant information and point to what materials need review by lead counsel.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Taylor and to Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson’s office. 

Fox News’ Adam Sabes contributed to this report. 

Peter D’Abrosca joined Fox News Digital in 2025 after four years as a politics reporter at The Tennessee Star. 

He grew up in Rhode Island and is a graduate of Elon University. 

Follow Peter on X at @pmd_reports. Send story tips to peter.dabrosca@fox.com.