On Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, four students at the University of Idaho were killed in their home. The four students were Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20.
After a six-week manhunt, Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old criminology student at Washington State University, the suspect in the killings was arrested in Pennsylvania.
Two years later, on Sept. 6, a ruling was passed that Kohberger’s trial would be moved from Moscow in Latah County to Boise in Ada County.
Latah County Judge, John C. Judge, ruled on this move after there were concerns about Kohberger being able to receive a fair trial in the small town where the homicides occurred.
Though the trial has moved 300 miles away to Ada County, Latah County will still be paying for the costs accrued throughout the trial, according to an article by the Idaho Statesman. This is because of Idaho Code 19-1806.
“The court to which the action is removed must proceed to trial and judgment therein as if the action had been commenced in such court,” The code reads. “The costs accruing upon such removal and trial are a charge against the county in which the indictment was found.”
“Ada County provides the site, and Latah County will transfer people back and forth, pay the lodging cost, pay the transportation cost,” the Idaho Attorney General David Leroy said in a news article by KREM2.
Latah County District Court was approved for a trial expense budget of $150,000 for the 2025 fiscal year, according to an article by ABC News. Their previous budget for 2024 was $3,500.
“If they are doing it crossing county lines, I think the state should pay for it,” Katrina Beall, a political science major at UI said. “It feels like it should not be a Latah County problem especially because the trial is not be conducted in Latah County.”
Kohberger’s next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 7 where the death penalty in his case will be challenged. Currently, Kohberger will face the death penalty if convicted for four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.
The trial’s starting date was postponed to Aug. 11, 2025, and is expected to end on Nov. 7, 2025.
“No matter what they do, everyone deserves a fair trial in the end,” Beall said.
Andrea Roberts can be reached at [email protected].
Mary Lou Vallee-Poer
Thanks Judge Judge! You should of kept it here since we're paying for it anyway! Would of saved our country so much money!