Bryan Kohberger's attorneys are trying to get the indictment against their client dismissed as the suspect's defense team is set to reveal his alleged alibi.
Attorneys for the defendant, accused of killing four Idaho college students last year, ask the judge handling the case to dismiss the indictment because the grand jury was supposedly misled about the "standards of proof required for an indictment."
Bryan Kohberger's Murder Trial
Kohberger's defense team argued that the grand jury should have been instructed that the standard of proof based on what was presented to them is "beyond a reasonable doubt." However, the suspect's lawyers argued that the jury members were not given that instruction.
The filing instead claims that the grand jury was instead given the standard of proof that is required for a "Presentment," which it claims is having a reasonable ground for believing that a particular individual was responsible for committing a specific offense, as per ABC News.
They argued that because the grand jury was allegedly told that they could indict on a lower standard of proof, there were grounds for dismissing the indictment. However, if the judge decides to reject the request, Kohberger's attorneys said they would ask for a new preliminary hearing to argue the issue in front of a magistrate to decide if the case should continue.
Kohberger's potential alibi from the night of the murder of the four college students claims that he was at a location other than the King Road address where the fatal stabbing of the victims, identified as 21-year-old Kaylee Gonvalces, 21-year-old Madison Mogen, 20-year-old Xana Kernodle, and 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, occurred.
The defendant's counsel was found to be planning to disclose evidence of the alibi in court documents filed on July 24. In the documents, public defender Anne Taylor said that a defendant denying the charges does not constitute an alibi. Still, evidence showing he was some other place than the crime scene raises an alibi defense.
Potential Alibi
Taylor added that they anticipate that the new evidence could be offered by way of cross-examining witnesses produced by the State and calling expert witnesses, according to Yahoo News.
The latest development comes three months after a criminal investigator who works for Kohberger's legal team claimed in separate court documents that a roommate for three of the victims, Goncalves, Mogen, and Kernodle, who was sleeping during the murders, had information material to the charges against the suspect.
In a filing in April, the investigator claims that the roommate's information was "exculpatory" to the defendant. This means that it could be the suspect's defense, and it was noted that it was necessary to subpoena the witness because his testimony was material and necessary to the case.
At the time of the homicides, the 28-year-old suspect graduated from the criminal justice and criminology department at Washington State University in Pullman. Authorities later arrested Kohberger in late December last year while visiting his parents' home while taking a break from school, said the Idaho Statesman.
Related Article: Jack Smith Brings Additional Charges Against Donald Trump
