Bryan Kohberger's lawyers want 'veil of secrecy' partially lifted in Idaho college murders case

Lawyers for the man accused of murdering four Idaho college students want to partly lift the veil of secrecy that has shrouded the case of Bryan Kohberger since he was charged two years ago.

In a new court filing, Kohberger's defense team is petitioning the court to make public records detailing the way DNA evidence was used by detectives in building the case against Kohberger.

That DNA evidence, which authorities say matches Bryan Kohberger, could be a linchpin in an otherwise largely circumstantial case.

"This matter is of utmost importance to Mr. Kohberger's right to a public hearing, holding the hearing in open court will not prejudice the parties, and this should be held in open court," one of his lawyers Elisa Massoth wrote in a filing posted Thursday morning.

RELATED: Idaho college killings: Prosecutors push back against Kohberger requests to exclude key evidence

Prosecutors allege that in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, Kohberger, then a criminology Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University, broke into an off-campus home and stabbed four University of Idaho students to death: Ethan Chapin, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21.

After a six-week hunt, police zeroed in on Kohberger as the suspect, arresting him on Dec. 30, 2022 at his family's home in Pennsylvania. He was indicted in May 2023 and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. At his arraignment, he declined to offer a plea, so the judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.

Kohberger's team has said investigators' use of a controversial new technique known as investigative genetic genealogy was unconstitutional, by no means a smoking gun, and should not be presented to the jury in the death penalty case against Kohberger, scheduled for this coming August.

Striking a notably different tone in seeking to show the public details about evidence in the case, defense lawyers are arguing their client and the public have a right to know how this particular element of the case is being made against Kohberger.

"Due to national and international attention to this case, and in the interest of protecting Mr. Kohberger's right to a fair trial, many pleadings in this case have been sealed," Massoth wrote. Kohberger and the public, she argued, have "a right to know how genetic information was used in this case."

RELATED: Bryan Kohberger's defense reveals alleged details from night of arrest at parent's Pennsylvania home

"In addition to Mr. Kohberger's right to a public trial, the public has a First Amendment right to know what goes on in its courts," Massoth said. "Here, the way in which the [investigative genetic genealogy] material was accessed and used is a matter warranting public disclosure and should not be shielded from public's right to know."

The genetic genealogy process helped law enforcement eventually link Kohberger to the crime scene: a type of "family tree" analysis that helped point investigators in the right direction. Prosecutors allege that Kohberger's DNA was found on the button snap of the knife sheath at the scene of the murders, a "statistical match" with a cheek swab later taken from him upon his arrest. Kohberger's lawyers contest the genetic genealogy process is not only flawed - but that the DNA evidence was "illegally gathered" and should be suppressed.

This latest salvo comes a week before a pretrial hearing on Jan. 23 expected to address a series of outstanding evidentiary issues, that could include the DNA issue.

Two days before that hearing, the new judge overseeing the case is scheduled to convene a closed-door video hearing on arguments about whether to grant Kohberger's request to make public the DNA evidence and related materials - and to "consider what portions, if any, and under what circumstances" any of the topics set for Thursday's hearing should be allowed public.