Bryan Kohberger, the accused killer who killed four college students in a quadruple killing last year, might be executed by firing squad.
The 28-year-old criminal justice major, who is still the only suspect in the November 13 killings of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20, is preparing for the prospect of a death penalty trial.
In the weeks leading up to the murder, Kohberger stalked them out of their off-campus home and kept numerous images of one of the female students on his phone, according to the prosecution’s charging papers.
Some of Kohberger’s former friends have even described how Kohberger changed both physically and emotionally in his senior year of high school, allegedly even getting a tummy tuck, to FBI and state investigators.
A bill that would reinstate the use of the firing squad for executions in the state has just been presented by a Republican state lawmaker.
In Idaho, execution by shooting squad was permitted from 1982 until 2009, when the Legislature made it illegal. The only method of execution that was still permitted in the jurisdiction was lethal injection.
But it’s getting harder and harder to get the chemicals needed for fatal injection.
In order to increase the number of businesses and pharmacies willing to enter into contracts with the legislature to supply the required ingredients, the legislature passed a bill last year granting anonymity to any company or pharmacy that supplied the chemicals used in lethal injection.
However, the Idaho Department of Corrections was compelled to postpone Gerald Pizzuto Jr.’s execution in November because it was unable to secure the chemicals required to carry it out.
Since then, Republican congressman from Nampa Bruce Skaug has supported legislation to reinstate the firing squad as a method of execution in Idaho.
The bill mandates that, no later than five days after a death warrant is issued, the Idaho Department of Corrections must decide whether lethal injection execution is a viable option.
The IDOC may decide to use a firing squad if the method is not accessible.
The bill only states that the IDOC director would decide on the execution’s protocols; it makes no mention of how many or what kind of firearms should be used.
The alternative, according to Skaug, is more humane than lethal injection because mistakes can happen during the execution procedure.
Additionally, due to their failure to obtain the chemicals for lethal injection, other states like Utah have recently reinstated the use of a firing squad, he noted to the Idaho Capital Sun.
The Idaho House Judiciary, Rules, and Administration Committee, which Skaug chairs, will now hold a public hearing on the measure.
In court papers, the prosecution described how Kohberger allegedly turned off his phone the night of the killings in an effort to hide his traces before fatally stabbing the four college students.
Just hours after police think he committed the quadruple homicide on November 13, he is even claimed to have gone back to the crime scene at 9 am.
The criminal justice graduate stalked the property at least 12 times, according to the probable cause statement, and his DNA was discovered on a knife sheath close to the corpses of Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
Following an inquiry, several hair strands, including one that was likely animal hair, a black glove, a computer tower, and an object with a collection of “dark red spots” were discovered in Kohberger’s apartment at Washington State University.
A cushion with a “reddish/brown stain” and the top and bottom of a mattress cover with “multiple stains” were also removed, according to the police.
At the Washington State University Police Department, all of the goods are currently being stored.
It is still unknown why the brutal murders occurred.
However, sources with knowledge of the investigation told PEOPLE that Kohberger had “more than one” picture of one of the four students who were killed, claiming it was “clear he was” in them.
According to sources who spoke to PEOPLE, the criminal justice major, 28, had “more than one” picture of one of the four students who were killed, and it was “clear he was paying attention to her.”
Unknown is whether Kohberger took the pictures on the device himself or whether they were obtained from her social media accounts, as well as whether they were taken before or after the quadruple-slaying.
Some of Kohberger’s former classmates have since come forward to discuss how Kohberger underwent both emotional and physical changes during his time in high school.
Kohberger allegedly began kickboxing every day after school and running in the evenings between his junior and senior years.
He also allegedly became excessively preoccupied with his food to the point where he developed an eating problem that necessitated hospitalization.
Kohberger may have weighed more than 300 pounds before losing up to half his bodily mass, according to one friend, Thomas Arntz. He told the Spokesman-Review that because the weight reduction happened so quickly, he had to have a tummy tuck because he had so much extra skin.
He claimed that Kohhberger also turned hostile at about the same period.
Arntz remarked, “It almost seemed to me that he had a desire to be the alpha.”
He would attempt to grapple with me and place me in a headlock when I didn’t want to for no apparent reason. I never interpreted it that way; he attempted to paint it as just boys being boys.
In Kohberger’s case, Chief Public Defender Anne Taylor will be compensated at a rate of $200 per hour plus any extra.
Kootenai County will pay her for her 40-hour work week, and Latah County authorities have agreed to transfer the money to Kootenai County for her services.
But Latah County will pay the lawyer directly for any extra she works outside of those hours.
Only 13 public defenders in Idaho have been authorized by the state’s public defense commission to handle death cases, according to officials. Taylor is the only one from North Idaho.
Although Latah County lacks a public defender certified to represent suspects in death penalty cases, they wanted to make sure they had a team of lawyers who could do so.
The payment for that kind of representation was discussed in the agreement, which could mean that the prosecutors are inclined to seek the death sentence.
A prosecutor must state that they will seek the death sentence within 30 days of the defendant entering pleas in order for Idaho’s voluntary capital crimes defense fund to meet certain requirements.
Latah County has until the end of July to formally pursue the death penalty as Kohberger is anticipated to make a plea on June 26, concurrent with the presentation of evidence.
He waived his right to an expedited preliminary review in January and is accused of four counts of murder and one case of felony burglary.
The Latah County Prosecutor has until the end of July to formally seek the death sentence since Kohberger is now anticipated to enter a plea on June 26.
Meanwhile, this term will see the demolition of the six-bedroom, three-bathroom home where the four college students lived and were killed.
Although it was already boarded up on Thursday, it is uncertain if this is to ensure that the evidence is preserved or to enable a clean-up operation before demolition.
The physical structure where the crime that shook our community was committed has been removed, according to an email sent to employees and students by University of Idaho President Scott Green.
Demolition also gets rid of attempts to make the crime scene more dramatic.
Additionally, there are plans for a memorial garden to be built on university land and for students to participate in the future development of a property.
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