Bryan Kohberger's family will be allowed to attend quadruple murder trial

Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News on May 8, 2025

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The immediate family of accused quadruple-murderer Bryan Kohberger will be allowed to attend his trial despite being potential witnesses.

Judge Steven Hippler made the decision public on Thursday, after prosecutors expressed concern over the presence of Kohberger’s parents and sisters, who are expected to testify during his upcoming murder trial. It’s not uncommon for witnesses to be excluded from legal proceedings for fear they could shape their testimony in response to what other witnesses have said or what evidence has been presented.

“Courts recognize that having defendant’s family members present at trial advances the values served by the right to public trial, i.e., ensuring fair proceedings; reminding the prosecutor and judge of their grave responsibilities; discouraging perjury; and encouraging witnesses to come forward,” Hippler wrote in his decision, citing the Sixth Amendment.

The judge previously ruled that family members of the victims may also attend the trial.

Kohberger, a former Washington State University PhD candidate, is accused of of killing Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, 21-year-old best friends, as well as their housemate, Xana Kernodle, and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, both 20.

All four students were found fatally stabbed inside a home in Moscow near the University of Idaho campus on Nov. 14 2022, sparking a weeks-long manhunt for their killer. The search culminated in Kohberger’s arrest weeks later at his parents’ home in eastern Pennsylvania on Dec. 30 of that year.

Prosecutors have said they intended to seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted at his trial, which is set to begin in August.