Judge Rejects Bryan Kohberger’s Push To Remove Possible Death Penalty From His Case

An Idaho judge has turned away a second defense motion in Bryan Kohberger’s murder trial, allowing the death penalty to remain on the table.

Key Insights

Judge Steven Hippler has denied a motion to remove the death penalty in Bryan Kohberger’s case.
This comes just days after he rejected a separate motion to remove the death penalty under different grounds.
Kohberger faces charges of first-degree murder for killing four University of Idaho students.
The defense cited disorganized evidence as problematic, but the judge disagreed.
A defense motion to eliminate the death penalty due to autism was also rejected.

Judge Denies Motion to Remove Death Penalty

An Idaho judge has denied a motion from Bryan Kohberger’s defense team to remove the death penalty as a possible punishment. Kohberger stands accused of the November 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students and faces additional charges, including burglary. The defense argued that the prosecution’s presentation of voluminous, unorganized evidence hindered their ability to properly review the case materials.

Judge Steven Hippler countered these claims, labeling the defense’s complaints as “hollow.” He noted Kohberger had been receiving discovery in the same manner for over two years. Moreover, Hippler highlighted Kohberger’s lead counsel, Anne Taylor, had not sought additional resources to manage the discovery process, stating, “[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.”

Idaho judge slams Bryan Kohberger's 'hollow' attempt to dodge death penalty in latest blow to defense https://t.co/dRemdVejnX

— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 30, 2025

Additional Motion Denied by Judge

The judge also previously dismissed a motion citing Kohberger’s autism diagnosis as grounds to eliminate the death penalty. Kohberger, a former criminology PhD student at Washington State University, will continue to face the possibility of this ultimate penalty. The trial is set to begin in August 2025, offering prosecutors the opportunity to pursue the death penalty, should Kohberger be convicted of these heinous crimes.

Prosecutors to Proceed Regardless of Defense Claims

The defense’s complaints of disorganized evidence and suggested sanctions, like striking the death penalty and excluding witnesses, fell short of securing sympathy from the court. Judge Hippler found no merit in the defense’s claims, maintaining that the prosecution had not provided irrelevant documents. With Kohberger’s robust defense team in place, time constraints are not expected to be a factor in the trial given his speedy trial waiver.

Kohberger’s arrest in Pennsylvania followed a successful match between his DNA and genetic materials from the crime scene. As the trial looms, the community remains somber, remembering the victims of the tragic killings that shook the University of Idaho’s campus.