BOISE, Idaho – Prosecutors say an essay Bryan Kohberger wrote as a criminology student should be shown to a jury to show his knowledge of crime scenes.
The essay was revealed in new documents filed by prosecutors in the University of Idaho murder case, along with other documents that shed light how the state plans to use to piece together the hours, days and even months before four students were stabbed to death.
Kohberger faces four counts of murder for the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle.
The state and defense are filing a flurry of motions to prepare for an upcoming hearing in April.
In one document, the defense claims the state isn’t giving enough detail about specific reasons it’s asking to introduce certain evidence.
The state’s response to that claim sheds new detail on the case prosecutors are building against Bryan Kohberger.
Kohberger’s movements and actions
The prosecution has already stated it will introduce evidence that Kohberger bought a Ka-Bar knife and sheath on Amazon several months before the murders on November 13, 2022.
The murder weapon has never been found, but a knife sheath was found in a bed with two of the victims.
This new document reveals prosecutors plan to also prove that Kohberger bought a black balaclava mask from Dick’s Sporting Goods on January 10, 2022. “This mask is the type of mask described by [one of the surviving roommates] worn by a male in the residence on November 13, 2022.”
The prosecution also plans to introduce video from several Moscow businesses that they say shows Kohberger’s vehicle in the hours before and after the homicides.
One is from a home 0.3 miles away that shows a car in the area of the homicides between 3:29 a.m. and 4:07 a.m., which is when police believe the murders took place.
They’re also planning to introduce surveillance video from a gas station in Pullman that shows Kohberger’s vehicle at 5:25 a.m.
Kohberger was living in Pullman at the time of the murders.
In addition, they’ve collected video that purports to show Kohberger’s car in Clarkston, Washington at 12:42 p.m., eight hours after the murders.
“Crime-Scene Scenario Final”
Prosecutors also plan to introduce an essay Kohberger wrote for a criminology class in 2020.
He was a student at DeSales University, studying criminology.
Titled “Crime-Scene Scenario Final”, it describes in first-person what Kohberger would do if he was a police officer who arrived at a crime scene where he found a 35-year-old woman dead.
He goes into detail about securing the scene, calling for the coroner, obtaining a search warrant and searching the area.
The essay describes what type of equipment would be needed to investigate the scene and what pictures would be taken of the deceased.
The prosecution says it would introduce the essay to show Kohberger’s knowledge of crime scenes.
Tracking the victims
Prosecutors also plan to use financial records and video to track where the victims were in the relevant time frame.
For example, they have surveillance video from a bagel shop and Cafe Artista between 1:40 and 2:00 a.m. that helps provide a timeline of events for where Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen were in the hours before their deaths.
Goncalves and Mogen are also on video at the Corner Club bar the night before their murders.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys will make their case about the admissibility of this and other evidence starting with a hearing in April.
Kohberger’s trial is set for August in Boise.
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