A hearing in the case of accused Idaho college coeds killer Bryan Kohberger got heated Thursday when the prosecutor, defense attorney and judge argued over the impact of a telephone survey commissioned by the accused killer of four's defense team and the impact it could have on potential Latah County jurors.
Prosecutor Bill Thompson voiced several concerns about the poll created by Bryan Edelman, a survey expert hired by Kohberger lawyer Anne Taylor.
According to the Lewiston Tribune, 400 residents were surveyed in aid of a motion by Taylor and her team to try and change the venue of the murder trial.
The questions Thompson found issue with asked the participants if they had read, seen or heard about certain details about the Kohberger case.
"Some of the details are not even true," said Thompson.
Other questions include whether the participant knows about the knife sheath allegedly found at the crime scene, the multiple visits Kohberger made to the crime scene, or whether Kohberger stalked his victims.
Thompson argued these questions violate a nondissemination order signed last year that prohibits people involved in the case from making out-of-court statements relating to the nature of evidence that will be presented at the trial.
"That is reckless conduct, and it's outrageous," Thompson said about the survey questions.
Thompson's office was made aware of the survey questions in March by a Latah County resident who recorded the phone survey.
Thompson argues that while Kohberger's defense is allowed to conduct a survey, the questions in this particular survey were inappropriate.
"We are trying to salvage a mess," Thompson said.
Kohberger was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary on November 22 after he allegedly stabbed University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.
Should he be convicted, Kohberger faces the death penalty.
Taylor countered that Edelman was not aware of the nondissemination order at the time he created the survey, but stated the questions only require a yes or no answer as they're based on information directly from the media.
The judge also voiced his disappointment in the survey by saying the prosecution and defense have "worked so hard" to protect a fair trial, which was the whole point behind the nondissemination order.
He now worries the survey will "inject" prejudicial information into the jury pool.
The judge believes that he "no doubt" obeyed Kohberger's due process rights.
"I had to stall it out so we can all talk about it and figure what is the right path because this is a big deal and I take it very seriously," Judge said.
A meeting for next Wednesday has been scheduled to discuss the status of the survey and whether a new one is required.
