(NewsNation) — Transcripts from a closed hearing conducted by attorneys representing Bryan Kohberger, the man charged in the 2022 killings of four University of Idaho students, were unsealed by an Idaho judge Monday, revealing how defense attorneys sought to throw out genetic evidence that led to his arrest.
Ada County Judge Steven Hippler unsealed the 175-page, partially redacted transcript of several witness interviews, including law enforcement.
A large portion of the hearing consisted of defense attorney interviews regarding possible suppression of the investigative genetic genealogy evidence, or IGG, in probable cause affidavits used to arrest and charge Kohberger.
Defense lawyers discussed possible evidence concerning a Franks motion, which requests a hearing to scrutinize the validity of a search or arrest warrant.
Kohberger’s attorneys have argued law enforcement violated his constitutional rights when they used IGG to identify possible suspects.
Prosecutors say the investigation, including the use of genetic genealogy, was properly done.
Bryan Kohberger’s lawyers argue suppression of evidence
During the closed hearing, Kohberger’s lawyers argued IGG evidence was improperly excluded from the probable cause affidavit that ultimately led to his arrest.
However, Moscow Police Detective Brett Payne, the lead investigator in the case, said that IGG evidence was only a “tip” and not the basis of warrants.
“The only thing that was given to us was Bryan Kohberger’s name; that was it. It was conveyed to us by the FBI that it was to be taken as no more than a tip; that was it. So once we received his name, we set about doing basically an independent verification of whether or not he was involved in this crime,” Payne testified.
Payne testified the decision to leave out the IGG evidence from the probable cause affidavit was a “collaborative decision.”
“We made that decision in an effort to independently verify the information that was provided to us as a tip from the FBI, in much the same way we would any other tip in law enforcement. So it was not in any way meant to obfuscate any sort of information, it was simply can we validate Mr. Kohberger’s involvement in this incident or can we not. That was it,” he said.
But Payne also testified that he had not been looking into Kohberger prior to being given his name by the FBI, which used IGG to deduce him as a suspect.
The IGG process often starts when DNA found at the scene of a crime does not yield results through standard law enforcement databases.
During cross-examination, Payne added that while he was leading the case, he was not the only one receiving information about a possible suspect.
Investigators have said they found “touch DNA,” or trace DNA, on the sheath of a knife that was found in the home where the students were fatally stabbed. The FBI used the IGG process on that DNA, and the information reportedly identified Kohberger as a possible suspect.
The defense team has argued that once Kohberger was identified as a possible suspect, law enforcement officers either purposely or recklessly lied or omitted crucial information when they asked the court to issue search warrants for his apartment, his parent’s house, his car, his cellphone and his DNA.
They want all of that evidence kept out of the trial.
University of Idaho killings and arrest of Bryan Kohberger
The deaths of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin on Nov. 13, 2022, shocked the small town of Moscow, Idaho. The four students were stabbed in their home during the night and were found by two of their surviving roommates the next morning.
Initially, investigators had few leads and spent considerable time tracing the activities of the four students in the hours before their deaths. After a little over a month, police arrested Kohberger for the crimes.
Attorneys for Kohberger claimed local police detectives were too broad in the search warrant giving them access to Kohberger’s apartment, car and electronic devices. Those searches led to the discovery of evidence that police say connects Kohberger to the killings.
Bryan Kohberger could face death penalty if convicted
Kohberger could face the death penalty if convicted, a judge ruled last November.
Kohberger’s defense team sought to remove the death penalty as a possible punishment, but the judge denied its request.
Read the transcript here:
NewsNation’s Liz Jassin, Brooke Shafer and Laura Ingle contributed to this story.
