4 Univ of Idaho Students Murdered, Bryan Kohberger Arrested, Moscow, Nov 2022 #84

[Counttrarian]

I also think the fact that the Defense HASN'T SAID ANYTHING says something to the Prosecution. The Defense has been all about "attacking" the discovery, questioning the discovery, questioning the "witnesses", piling on the paperwork. Which is exactly what they are supposed to do. But no showing of any evidence, exculpatory, mitigating, or otherwise. IMO, JMO, etc.

Outside of discovery the defense laying out their case including exculpatory evidence before the trial begins could amount to malfeasance. Certainly not saying it will happen here but some defenses attorneys never even put on an affirmative defense if they sense the state's case is weak.

 

[Chloegirl]

Excellent post!

So, is it just the Defense needs time to sift through the 51 T to understand what the State has and they've not caught up yet? Or, is it more likely that they don't have a full defense yet because in there line of thinking exculpatory evidence has not been found, alibi has not been stated, and currently they have several ways of approaching this case but can't decide which way to go until the State's case is revealed? I feel like we're watching some sort of boxing match waiting for somebody to throw the first punch, sigh.

 

[kittythehare]

So the DP can only be on the table at sentencing if the prosecution seeks the DP to begin with?

Well it's the same jury so prior to electing a jury they will need to ascertain whether they are DP friendly.
Sometimes they pretend they are and when it comes to it, they just cannot do it.
That happened in the case of YingYing Zhang.
Two of them stated they could not go through with it having been fine at initial interview...
Grr.

 

[arielilane]

Now that the state has announced its intention to seek the death penalty for Bryan Kohberger, it's more important than ever that cameras be allowed in court. When the state could take a life, it should be as transparent a process as possible.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1673456901957496832

https://twitter.com/MelissaKXLY4

 

[Counttrarian]

Prosecutors do not want to turn over the information developed by the FBI to Kohberger’s defense team. Prosecutors claim records were not kept and they want to protect information of Kohberger’s relatives.

And therein lies a notable problem for the prosecution that the defense is going to attack. Unless you get a very sympathetic judge the FBI can't have it both ways.
They can't try to submit evidence and yet say the details of their gathering needs to remain private. (Conjecture but I bet this has to do with genealogy data). This isn't a matter of vital national interest that needs to remain classified.

 

[Cool Cats]

So the DP can only be on the table at sentencing if the prosecution seeks the DP to begin with?

A DP trial means that the defendant has DP qualified attorneys and certain specific DP Motions need to be filed and considered by the judge. Expect to see many of these Motions filed by the defense. If you think there are alot of Motions now, you haven't seen anything yet.

A DP trial requires a special DP qualified jury, the process for picking a jury is longer and more rigorous.
The jurors understand that this is a DP case and this knowledge can make them even more skeptical about the evidence presented against the defendant. However, proponents against the DP cite studies that have shown a DP jury is more likely to convict.

So Kohberger will go to trial under the DP. His trial will be a DP trial.

But it won't be until the sentencing trial where BK would learn his fate. All 12 jurors must vote for death and if even one juror votes against death then the judge will sentence him to LWOP.

<modsnip>

2 Cents

 

[kittythehare]

And therein lies a notable problem for the prosecution that the defense is going to attack. Unless you get a very sympathetic judge the FBI can't have it both ways.
They can't try to submit evidence and yet say the details of their gathering needs to remain private. (Conjecture but I bet this has to do with genealogy data). This isn't a matter of vital national interest that needs to remain classified.

Well, it's not like they obtained it illegally.
They have his DNA now.
So it's moot.
Defense grasping at straws..
Where's the alibi?

This is just another storm in a teacup and every trial goes like this, IMO.

 

[TL4S]

It seems to me that the aggravating factor that cannot be denied is factor b, which is basically that while committing murder, the killer committed another murder. But l appreciate that the prosecution didn't stop there. They wanted to show just how terrible this crime was, above and beyond the already terrible act of ending a human life.

 

[Counttrarian]

They have his DNA now.
So it's moot.

Except it's not moot. IF they cast an extremely wide net across multiple databases without probable cause and/or a warrant the fruit of the poison tree may apply.
A local Idaho judge likely won't toss the evidence, but I do think it is ripe for appeal.

 

[kittythehare]

It seems to me that the aggravating factor that cannot be denied is factor b, which is basically that while committing murder, the killer committed another murder. But l appreciate that the prosecution didn't stop there. They wanted to show just how terrible this crime was, above and beyond the already terrible act of ending a human life.

They're all valid and they might even add a few others, down the road.
He does indeed have a propensity for these kinds of things.
A normal slasher would have stopped at one..

(I really want to know what they found on his computers)

 

[I'm Nobody]

Kind of like a 2 minute summary of the last few pages on WS. JMO

 

[wary]

I think it is more about evidence of mitigating circumstances, not alibi, since this will come up again during the sentencing jury trial. Evidence of mitigating circumstances may be considerd by the sentencing jury, so to me it would seem prudent for prosecutors to look into this before deciding if this should be a death-eligible case.

If BK did kill them, what in the world could mitigating circumstances be? Severe mental illness, I suppose….anything else?

 

[Chloegirl]

If BK did kill them, what in the world could mitigating circumstances be? Severe mental illness, I suppose….anything else?

Yeah I've been spinning out on that. Sealed adolescent crimes back in Pennsylvania? Long history of violence, I don't think we know he has any priors but sometimes that stuff gets worked out in court when you're under 18??? JMOO

 

[kittythehare]

Except it's not moot. IF they cast an extremely wide net across multiple databases without probable cause and/or a warrant the fruit of the poison tree may apply.
A local Idaho judge likely won't toss the evidence, but I do think it is ripe for appeal.

Cite a source.
They had a single source DNA from button of sheath.
Of course they banged it straight into Codis and whatever open and other source databases they can access.

 

[kittythehare]

If BK did kill them, what in the world could mitigating circumstances be? Severe mental illness, I suppose….anything else?

none that I can think of.

 

[flowershop]

The prosecution will pursue the death penalty against murder suspect Bryan Kohberger.

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article276771131.html

 

[Counttrarian]

Cite a source.
They had a single source DNA from button of sheath.
Of course they banged it straight into Codis and whatever open and other source databases they can access.

Genetic genealogy used to link suspect in Idaho slayings to crime scene, prosecutors say

DNA found on a knife sheath was at least 5.37 octillion times more likely to be Kohberger’s than that of an unrelated member of the public, prosecutors said in a court filing last week.

www.nbcnews.com

"Investigators first submitted DNA from the knife sheath — found facedown on a bed next to the bodies of Mogen and Goncalves, and partially under Mogen's body and the comforter — to the FBI database CODIS, which tracks DNA profiles of people who have been arrested or convicted, according to the filing. When that didn't turn up a match, investigators turned to genetic genealogy, commissioning a private lab to build a DNA profile that could be used to search for relatives, the filing states.

The FBI then took over and uploaded the DNA profile "to one or more publicly available genetic genealogy services to identify possible family members of the suspect based on shared genetic data," the filing states."

(emphasis added)

 

[kittythehare]

The prosecution will pursue the death penalty against murder suspect Bryan Kohberger.

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article276771131.html

paywalled for me.

 

[wary]

And therein lies a notable problem for the prosecution that the defense is going to attack. Unless you get a very sympathetic judge the FBI can't have it both ways.
They can't try to submit evidence and yet say the details of their gathering needs to remain private. (Conjecture but I bet this has to do with genealogy data). This isn't a matter of vital national interest that needs to remain classified.

I think it’s genealogy data—but that’s almost irrelevant, now. Once they’ve tested HIS DNA, that’s the gold standard. The details of his family tree become irrelevant, unless someone claims that he has a long-lost twin.

MOO

 

[schooling]

Genetic genealogy used to link suspect in Idaho slayings to crime scene, prosecutors say

DNA found on a knife sheath was at least 5.37 octillion times more likely to be Kohberger’s than that of an unrelated member of the public, prosecutors said in a court filing last week.

www.nbcnews.com

"Investigators first submitted DNA from the knife sheath — found facedown on a bed next to the bodies of Mogen and Goncalves, and partially under Mogen's body and the comforter — to the FBI database CODIS, which tracks DNA profiles of people who have been arrested or convicted, according to the filing. When that didn't turn up a match, investigators turned to genetic genealogy, commissioning a private lab to build a DNA profile that could be used to search for relatives, the filing states.

The FBI then took over and uploaded the DNA profile "to one or more publicly available genetic genealogy services to identify possible family members of the suspect based on shared genetic data," the filing states."

(emphasis added)

The sample submitted to CODIS was pulled locally and done so first. Ultimately that's the sample that matched BK's cheek swab.

The other genealogical sample was pulled after and used as an investigative lead. It has no connection to the original DNA sample. The chain of custody is clear.

Fruit from a poison tree doesn't apply here.

Also, whenever I see this point argued there's typically no remedy given by the person presenting the argument. As the only remedy would be to throw out every piece of evidence forever and have BK be immune from prosecution.

MOO