Bryan Kohberger Did Not Stalk Idaho Victim Before Murder, Court Hears

A polling team hired by Bryan Kohberger’s defense has been spreading false information that he stalked one of the four murder victims in the case, a prosecutor has said in court.

Kohberger, 29, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in connection with the fatal stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. The bodies of the four University of Idaho students were found in an off-campus residence on November 13, 2022.

Kohberger has maintained his innocence in the case, previously standing silent during his arraignment. Judge John Judge, who is overseeing the case, entered “not guilty” pleas for each of the charges against him in response.

During a heated court exchange on Wednesday, Dr. Bryan Edelman, who supervised a phone poll of 400 potential jurors in an Idaho county for the defense, agreed that one of the questions asked if potential jurors had read, seen or heard that Kohberger stalked one of the victims.

“That Mr. Kohberger allegedly stalked one of the victims, that’s false…You knew that to be false?” asked the prosecutor, Bill Thompson.

“I did,” replied Edelman.

Edelman said he wasn’t interested in whether it was true or not, merely that it was being spread by the media and was therefore contaminating potential jurors in the case.

Edelman, the co-founder of the Trial Innovations jury consulting company, said it would be “ridiculous” to ask the potential jurors about their knowledge of stalking reports in the media and then tell them the reports weren’t true.

“I care about whether or not it’s been proliferated by the media,” said Edelman.

Thompson was seeking to establish that the defense has been spreading false information about the case during a phone poll of 400 potential jurors in Latah County, Idaho, where the four students were stabbed to death.

Kohberger’s defense team had hired Edelman’s company to assess if people in Latah County, Idaho, had a negative opinion of Kohberger, who has been charged with the murders.

The defense team was hoping that the calls would prove that local people were prejudiced against their client and that the trial should, therefore, be moved to another county.

Thompson said that Edelman appeared emotionally upset by the questions on Wednesday and appeared to be almost breaking down. He said he was surprised that someone of Edelman’s experience had reacted to the questions in this way.

Edelman retorted: “I’m not crying, I’m angry.” He said that he has been accused of saturating potential jurors with prejudicial information when, in reality, he was trying to assess what effect media coverage has had on potential jurors.

During an intense examination, Kohberger’s attorney, Anne Taylor, objected and, at one point, accused Thompson of “badgering” Edelman.

Judge John Judge agreed that people should speak one at a time and told Thompson to “lower the tone a little bit”.

At a hearing on April 4, Thompson told Judge John Judge that a polling company hired by Bryan Kohberger’s defense team had asked nine “reckless” and “outrageous” questions to 400 potential jurors in Latah County.

A concerned member of the public recorded one of the phone calls and contacted the local district attorney’s office to make a complaint, he said.

In asking the questions, they have planted negative opinions of Kohberger in potential jurors’ minds, according to prosecutors.

A transcript of the recorded phone call reveals that pollsters asked nine questions about the case to potential jurors.

They include:

1. Have you read, seen or heard if Bryan Kohberger was arrested at his parent’s home in Pennsylvania?
2. Have you read, seen or heard if police found a knife sheath on the bed next to one of the victims.?
3. Have you read, seen or heard that DNA found on the knife sheath was later matched to Bryan Kohberger?
4. Have you read, seen or heard if Bryan Kohberger owned the same type of car reported seen driving in the neighborhood where the killings occurred?
5. Have you read, seen or heard if the cell phone tower data showed that Bryan Kohberger made several trips near the victims’ home in the month before the killing?
6. Have you read, seen or heard if the university students in Moscow and their parents lived in fear until Bryan Kohberger was arrested for the murders?
7. Have you read, seen or heard If Bryan Kohberger said that he was out driving alone on the night of the murders?
8. Have you read, seen or heard that Bryan Kohberger stalked one of the victims?
9. Have you read, seen or heard that Byran Kohberger had followed one of the victims on social media?

The judge is to decide at a later date whether to change the trial venue.