Special investigation apparently requested over evidence leaks in Kohberger case
The defense for Bryan Kohberger, the man charged with killing four University of Idaho students, appears to have requested a 'special investigation' into alleged leaks in the case in an episode of NBC's 'Dateline' last month.
The prosecution in the case filed a response Wednesday to the defense's motion regarding the appointment of a special prosecutor, according to a public case summary. Judge Steven Hippler, who presides over the case, ordered that filing sealed Thursday, the record showed.
The case summary also indicated the defense filed a motion for 'Access and Fair Investigation' and an 'Objection to Release of Privileged and Confidential Work Product' on Wednesday, which Hippler also sealed Thursday.
Sealed records are not released publicly, though the judge's sealing orders eventually will post to the state courts website, Idaho courts spokesperson Nate Poppino told the Idaho Statesman on Thursday.
At a public hearing last month, Hippler stated he held a closed-door portion earlier that same morning, and the Ada County judge said he was open to bringing on a special prosecutor. That person would be tasked with investigating potential violations of the court's gag order by law enforcement or the prosecution through disclosure of previously unreleased information about Kohberger and the investigation revealed in the episode of 'Dateline.'
'As I indicated, I would be open to a request for appointment of a special prosecutor,' Hippler told the defense at that hearing, 'and that special prosecutor to ask for a magistrate inquiry so they have the power of subpoena and the power to question witnesses under oath, as well as the power to grant immunity. So I will be looking for that from you.'
'Dateline' representatives have not responded to prior requests for comment from the Statesman.
The gag order, which took effect four days after Kohberger's arrest in late December 2022, restricts attorneys from both sides — and anyone affiliated with them, including members of law enforcement — from making public statements about the case outside of court. The episode of 'Dateline' aired May 9 — just days before a pretrial hearing in the case.
Edwina Elcox, a Boise-based criminal defense attorney, told the Statesman that the filing appears to be about the appointment of a special prosecutor.
'That's exactly what I think that is,' Elcox said in a phone interview Thursday. 'Because obviously Judge Hippler invited it, and that's the way the formal request would be made. They do everything through motion practice, so the way you get that done is ask for a formal inquiry and the court would appoint a special prosecutor.'
Hippler earlier issued orders to the prosecution and defense to retain all records and correspondence related to the likely violations within seven days. Each side filed a related 'notice of compliance' to the court on May 22, with the prosecution also submitting a supplemental filing on the matter the next day.
Kohberger, 30, faces four counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of four students at an off-campus home in Moscow. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if a jury finds Kohberger guilty.
The victims were U of I seniors Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21; junior Xana Kernodle, 20, and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20. The three woman lived in the Moscow home with two female roommates who went physically unharmed in the attack, while Chapin was Kernodle's boyfriend and stayed over for the night.
Kohberger's capital murder trial in Boise is scheduled to start with jury selection at the end of July.
Defense attorneys last month sought to delay Kohberger's trial, citing an overwhelming amount of evidence they've yet to review, as well as the prejudicial information released about their client on the NBC news program. Prosecutors objected to that request to postpone, and a public court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 18, to argue the issue before Hippler.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
4 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
What is the Lawrence Bishnoi gang? And why do Canadian politicians want them labelled terrorists?
An India-based criminal organization is drawing increasing political scrutiny in Canada, with some saying it needs to be declared a terrorist organization. This week, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown called on Ottawa to declare the Lawrence Bishnoi gang a terrorist organization, joining a chorus of other voices. 'We must take transnational crime seriously and that means giving law enforcement the investigative tools to combat these sophisticated criminal networks,' Brown said on X. Brown was joined by deputy mayor Harkirat Singh and regional councillors Gurpartap Singh Toor and Navjit Kaur Brar in the request to have the Lawrence Bishnoi gang declared a criminal organization by Ottawa. 'The Bishnoi gang, a transnational criminal network, led from India, has been linked to a growing wave of violence, extortion and intimidation targeting South Asian communities in Brampton and across the Region of Peel,' Brown said in a prepared statement. The statement did not give examples of specific violent incidents. The Lawrence Bishnoi group was also named in the murder of Brampton-based rapper Sidhu Moose Wala, when Wala was in India in 2022. Bishnoi, who is in his early 30s, is the son of a police officer and was educated in a convent school. Now in custody in India on more than two dozen charges, including murder and extortion, he awaits trial. He has been accused of using intimidation tactics to extort business owners in Punjabi diaspora communities in North America, Europe and the Gulf states. The gang is reportedly run by Bishnoi through encrypted cell messages, even though he is behind bars in India. Brown's comments follow similar ones earlier this week, when B.C. Premier David Eby urged the federal government to label the gang a terrorist organization because of extortion and other crimes against the South Asian community on the West Coast. Eby said Tuesday that he was going to write to Prime Minister Mark Carney, asking that the Lawrence Bishnoi group be labelled a terrorist group 'to enable police to be able to use the necessary tools to investigate.' Last fall, the RCMP stated the gang was targeting members of the pro-Khalistan movement who were on Canadian soil, allegedly acting for the Indian government. On the West Coast, the Lawrence Bishnoi group was accused this week of firing bullets into the home of a Punjabi music producer. Last year, shots were reportedly fired at the home of Punjabi music star A.P. Dhillon on Vancouver Island and in 2023, shots were fired outside the West Vancouver home of Bollywood singer and actor Gippy Grewal. Indian media said the Lawrence Bishnoi group claimed responsibility for both attacks. Moves to label the Lawrence Bishnoi gang a terrorist group throw complications into Carney's attempts to rebuild the Canada-India relationship. Eby's announcement on Tuesday was praised by the World Sikh Organization of Canada. 'Canadian law enforcement and intelligence agencies have linked the Bishnoi gang to assassinations, extortions, and intimidation carried out at the direction of Indian government agents including the 2023 murder of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar and other violent crimes,' the organization said. With files from The Canadian Press
New York Post
12 hours ago
- New York Post
Grieving parents awarded $2.25M after Georgia doctor plastered videos of their decapitated baby on social media
A Georgia couple whose baby was decapacitated during childbirth was awarded a $2.25 million verdict after their pathologist posted graphic autopsy videos on social media without their consent. Dr. Jackson Gates and his Atlanta-based business will have to fork over the large sum to Jessica Ross and Traveon Taylor Sr. after a Fulton County jury found him liable of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and fraud on Wednesday. 'This young couple trusted him with the remains of their precious baby,' attorney's for the grieving parents said, noting that the doctor 'poured salt into the couple's already deep wounds.' 3 Jessica Ross and Treveon Taylor Sr., parents of a baby who was decapitated during childbirth. AP 'Gates, in turn, repaid this trust by posting horrific images of their child for the world to see.' The heartbroken couple hired the twisted doctor to perform an autopsy on their deceased newborn two days after their obstetrician allegedly applied excessive force to the baby's neck when its shoulders became stuck in Ross's pelvic area, causing it to detach during the traumatic July 2023 delivery. 3 The traumatic delivery occurred at Southern Regional Medical Center in July 2023. ERIK S LESSER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The baby's head was delivered vaginally, but the rest of the body was removed via C-section. The death was later ruled a homicide. Gates posted numerous videos and photos to his Instagram later that month, showing the grisly postmortem examination of their infants 'decapitated, severed head,' the couple said in their lawsuit. The deranged pathologist initially removed the footage after receiving a letter from the couple's attorney — but later reposted them, according to the lawsuit. 3 The couple was awarded $2.25 million in a lawsuit against their pathologist. AP Gates' attorney, Ira Livant, said his client typically documents his autopsy's on social media to educate fellow pathologists and highlight the importance of independent examinations in cases where families suspect medical misconduct. 'Dr. Gates testified that he is deeply sorry for any harm that he unintentionally caused the plaintiffs,' Livant said Saturday. 'Had he known for one second that they would see that and that they would know it was their child, he would never have done it.' The couple will receive $2 million in compensatory damages and an additional $250,000 in punitive damages from Gates and his company, Medical Diagnostics Choices, per the judgement. The bereaved parents have separate lawsuits pending against the delivering doctor and the Riverdale hospital where the horrific incident took place. With Post wires.
New York Post
14 hours ago
- New York Post
Man conned out of $400K in gold coins latest vic of LI fraud ring: suit
A Michigan man was allegedly scammed out of almost $400,000 in gold coins by a Long Island dealer who is at the center of at least a dozen scams across the United States, court documents reveal. Ahmad Abdallah shipped five boxes of American Gold Eagle coins to Suffolk County-based Austin Coins in May 2024 as part of a deal that they be appraised and sent back if no trade was agreed to, according to a lawsuit filed on Long Island last week. The collection included nearly 150 perfect condition, 22-karat coins minted as early as 1987 and ranging in size from 1/10th of an ounce to 1 ounce. The coins have face values of up to $50 each, though with gold currently priced at $3,400 an ounce, their actual worth is much higher. 3 Patrick White sent Ahmad Abdallah a text in October of Abdallah's coins that were supposed to be returned after appraisal, according to a lawsuit. Obtained by the New York Post After what he says was a 'bad faith, low-ball appraisal,' Abdallah demanded that Patrick White, the owner of Austin Coins, send the collection back to him, the federal court filing claims. But Abdallah never got his coins back, he claimed in the suit, and was instead strung along by White, who assured him he was trying to find a buyer for the collection. 'Any news on my coins?' Abdallah asked White in October, according to court documents. 'Pat, please man, tell me something.' 'Pat, you just tell me things to hold me off for a day or so and then you disappear and nothing happens,' Abdallah texted him a week later. Abdallah is seeking at least $385,000 for what he calls a 'willful, fraudulent, and dishonest 'appraisal scam.'' 3 White sent Abdallah over text boasting of his travels. White was already in court in April for a hearing in a different case, in which he and co-conspirators were accused of scamming Earl Keith — an 82-year-old retiree and cancer patient from Wyoming — into 'investing' more than $300,000 of his life savings into gold coins. Kenneth Walsh, an attorney for Keith, Abdallah and several other alleged victims of White and his businesses said he asked White about Abdallah during the April hearing. White claimed he had Abdallah's coins at his home in Huntington, before admitting they were actually in a storage container mostly filled with 'junk' in Melville that was at risk of being auctioned off because he owed the facility money, according to transcripts. He paid the CubeSmart an hour before the contents were auctioned off but has refused to return Abdallah's coins, according to the court papers. 3 Abdallah begged White for months to give him an update on his gold coins and to ship them back to him in Michigan. Obtained by the New York Post 'Mr. Abduallah's case is an unfortunate example of how these coin fraudsters work,' Walsh told The Post. 'We believe there are many other Austin Lloyd customers like him suffering financial losses in the millions,' Walsh continued. 'Even while under investigation, Patrick White and his accomplices continue to brazenly defraud consumers like Mr. Abduallah. Someone has to put an end to this — and that's why we pursue these cases.' White, a former stockbroker now banned by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, is accused of being the 'ringleader' of at least 12 different coin scams, according to a lawsuit filed last year in Onondaga, New York, and several others reviewed by The Post. White allegedly swindled upwards of $6.8 million from people across the country since around 2020, primarily 'vulnerable' retirees recruited through telemarketing cold calls made by his various shell companies, including Austin Lloyd, Inc., according to the filed lawsuits. White said in court testimony that he and his accomplices had more than 5,000 customers. White, who sources say has yet to face jailtime for the accused crimes, did not immediately respond to a message from The Post.
