Judge keeps death penalty a possibility for man charged in killings of 4 Idaho students

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The death penalty will remain a possibility for a man charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Judge Steven Hippler was not swayed by legal arguments made by Bryan Kohberger’s defense team to remove it as an option if he is convicted in the case, KBOI-TV reported.

Kohberger’s attorneys had argued in part that the death penalty does not fit today’s standards of decency, that it is cruel to make condemned inmates sit for decades awaiting execution and that it violates an international treaty prohibiting the torture of prisoners.

The Idaho Supreme Court has already considered many of those arguments in other capital cases and allowed the death penalty to stand, prosecutors noted.

Kohberger is accused of the Nov. 13, 2022, killings of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. Investigators said they have linked Kohberger — then a graduate student at nearby Washington State University — to the crime from DNA found on a knife sheath at the scene, surveillance videos and cellphone data.

Kohberger’s attorneys have said he was out for a drive the night of the killings, something he often did to look at the sky. When asked to enter a plea last year, Kohberger stood silent, prompting a judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf.

His trial is scheduled to begin next August and is expected to last up to three months.

Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.