Do you side with prosecution or the defense as of now?

We are a few months out if not longer from the trial of the Idaho 4 beginning.

While the trial date of Oct. 2 remains, there is a good chance that date will be pushed back for any number of reasons. As such, a trial could be on hold until well into 2024.

With that in mind, one could argue that a verdict now in the minds of the people is a waste of time.

We likely do not have all of the state’s evidence, nor do we know the line of defense those defending Bryan Kohberger will take.

If I was on the jury and the trial was going on now, these are the key areas of focus for me:

1. DNA on the knife sheath – The biggest hurdle for the defense team to climb is the reported touch DNA of the defendant found on the knife sheath in the bedroom of victim Maddie Mogen. Making a clear argument to the jurors on why they should discredit what is to now the state’s key piece of evidence is a big challenge. If Kohberger had nothing to do with the killings, why is his touch DNA reportedly on an item inches away from one of the victims in her bed? My guess is the defense will bring in its own DNA experts to try and explain in a clear manner to the jury why they should consider discrediting this find. I as a juror would need a clear explanation as to why this key find is not the smoking gun.
2. Where is the 9-1-1 call? – If you follow murder cases or even other such tragic events, you know it is not at all uncommon for any 9-1-1 calls to be released to the public in a timely manner. We are now past the eight-month date of these killings and still no such call has been released to the public. All indications from the Moscow Police Department are that such a call was placed around noon on Nov. 13, 2022. There have been debates about whether the call came from outside or inside of the home at 1122 King Road and also if it was from a friend of the victims or one of the two surviving roommates. While the state has argued it can’t release the call now, many of us find it suspect to say the least. The same can be said for not releasing any toxicology reports on the four victims. Although the victims were not killed in say an auto accident and drunk driving was suspected, there should still have been toxicology tests done on the four. Not releasing them to the public once again fuels speculation and rumors.
3. What is the motive? – Maybe the biggest question many of us following the case have is what the motive is. I was one of many having bought into the stalker narrative put out there by the Moscow Police Department and others early on. If you stop and put your rational thinking cap on, such a motive becomes less obvious by the week. I don’t want to beat a dead horse having noted this several times before, but breaking into a home armed only with a knife and not knowing what is waiting for you on the inside doesn’t make logical sense. How would the killer not know if several of the women had boyfriends/male buddies crashing there for the night? Be honest, would you break into someone’s home with multiple vehicles in the lot and take your chances with only a knife if you had a thing for one of the women there? I stand by my belief that this involved way more than stalking. Sadly, I think if the truth comes out we will find drugs were in play. That is NOT to say the four victims were big drug users/sellers etc. On the flip side of the coin, please don’t tell me some (not the majority) college kids do not have interactions with drugs to some degree. If you believe that they do not, I have ocean property in Nebraska I’d like to sell you.

As we await a trial down the road, could you convict Kohberger with the evidence we have to date if you were asked to offer a verdict today?

Photo credit: 6ABC