Bryan Kohberger has been indicted by a grand jury over the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students last year — meaning he will have to enter a plea next week.
The Latah County, Idaho, grand jury indicted the former criminology student on charges of felony burglary and four counts of first-degree murder, a Latah County district clerk confirmed Wednesday.
The 28-year-old stands accused of slipping into an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, and killing Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, and 21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
Kohberger will by arraigned at 9 a.m. local time Monday in court, where he will have to enter a plea.
He is expected to plead not guilty, and if that is the case, a judge will set a date for trial, according to local station KXLY.
Kohberger previously had a preliminary hearing scheduled for late June, which has been canceled.
He had previously waived a speedy trial, and effectively declined his right to head to trial within a mandated time frame.
Grand jury proceedings are closed-door events that typically remain under seal. An indictment released to the public Wednesday was dated May 16.
During such proceedings, a panel of jurors hears testimony and evidence related to the crime without defense attorneys’ ability to cross-examine witnesses, such as, in this case, the victims’ surviving roommates.
Bryan Kohberger allegedly murdered Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, and 21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
Defense attorneys had argued that surviving roommate Bethany Funke should testify during the hearing, despite her request not to do so, because she had exculpatory evidence.
The grand jury proceedings would have allowed prosecutors to question Funke without the risk of defense attorneys’ probing questions.
News of the indictment comes six months after the four students were killed inside the girls’ rented home during the early hours of November 13.
Chapin, Kernodle, Mogen and Goncalves were killed at this home.James Keivom for NY Post
The students were found on the second and third floors of the home.Kai Eiselein
Moscow police received a call just before noon that day for a report of an “unconscious person.”
Officers found the four lifeless students on the second and third floors, police said.
The victims had been stabbed multiple times between 3 and 4 a.m., and some showed signs of having tried to fight back, police said.
Bryan Kohberger appears at a hearing in Latah County District Court on January 5, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho.Getty Images
Bryan Kohberger is expected to plead not guilty.AP
Two other roommates were on the bottom floor of the home at the time of the attack and survived, police said.
Roommate Dylan Mortensen, identified in court papers as “D.M.,” told police she heard who she believed was Goncalves saying “something to the effect of ‘there’s someone here,’” according to an unsealed affidavit.
“D.M. stated she looked out of her bedroom but did not see anything when she heard the comment about someone being in the house,” the affidavit states. “D.M. stated she opened her door a second time when she heard what she thought was crying coming from Kernodle’s room.
Accused University of Idaho students killer Bryan Kohberger is seen talking to police in body camera video filmed a month before the murders.Washington State Univ Police / MEGA
“D.M. then said she heard a male voice say something to the effect of ‘it’s ok, I’m going to help you.’”
The surviving roommate revealed she later opened her door a third time and came face to face with the suspected killer, whom she allegedly described as wearing a mask, having “bushy eyebrows” and being 5 feet 10 or taller, “not very muscular, but athletically built.” But police were not called for several hours.
Authorities ultimately arrested Kohberger, who was studying at nearby Washington State University, at the end of December 2022.
Kohberger, who was living close to Moscow in Pullman, Washington, had allegedly remained on campus for weeks after the murders before making a cross-country drive with his father to his home state of Pennsylvania.