Beyond The Horizon
ICYMI: What Did The Experts Say About The Kohberger Trial Delays?
With the Bryan Kohberger trial being delayed being a forgone conclusion at this point, many people have chimed in with their opinions on how the delay might hurt or help both sides.
In this episode, we hear from a few of those experts as they breakdown the current situation in Moscow and what might be coming next as we await the trial of Bryan Kohberger.
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source:
Bryan Kohberger trial delay buys defense time to build alibi, concerns about memory of lone witness | Fox News
- Duration:
- 13m
- Broadcast on:
- 04 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
What's up everyone and welcome back to the program. After a recent court trip by Brian Coburger last week, there has been a renewed cry to get things moving in a quicker, more efficient manner. And while I certainly agree that I'd love to see things kick off quicker, I understand why there have been all of these delays. And it's just something that happens in cases like this. Even with a case like Galain Maxwell's, we had a delay in that case as well. And it wasn't a death penalty type of case. So I was expecting this case to be delayed, but I understand completely why the family is especially, you know, the Gonzales family, who has been in the forefront for all of these months and years now, can't believe we're saying that years, but they've been at the forefront looking for justice and they've been very consistent with their message. They want that justice and they want it soon. And who the hell can blame them? If it was your loved one or your daughter, you'd want that justice to be rendered ASAP, and they're no different. They want the person who the government says killed their daughter to face the justice that he deserves, and they feel like that's being put off. And when you're in a situation like the Gonzales are in, it must seem like every second is a decade. So hopefully they can figure it all out and we can get things moving. But when we have a death penalty style case, usually there's all sorts of impediments on the way to justice. Today's article is from Fox News and the headline, Brian Kohlberger Trial Delay buys the defense time to build an alibi concerns about memory of lone witness. This article was authored by Michael Ruiz. And there is some truth to that, but at the end of the day that alibi is going to have to withstand the scrutiny of the jury. And if that alibi does not withstand that scrutiny, then that alibi is going to be worth ungots. And I think that and Taylor and Brian Kohlberger's team, I think they understand that. There is one known eyewitness to the University of Idaho student murders, a housemate who overheard sounds of a struggle and came face to face with a masked intruder. On the night, four undergrads were stabbed to death in Moscow, Idaho. By the time the case goes to trial, years will have passed with potential implications for her memory of the events. Well, usually that would be something that I'd be worried about, but not so much here. Her limited testimony is only going to corroborate a basic description of who Kohlberger was, right? A guy that wasn't, you know, muscular, a guy that was athletically built, a guy that was his height, bushy eyebrows, and all the rest of it. So I'm not too concerned about the testimony from Bethany funk, deteriorating over time because of her memory. That would be more of an issue if it was something that happened 15 years ago, 10 years ago. So I don't see that being too much of an issue. Meanwhile suspect Brian Kohlberger's defense has bought more time to build up an alibi and pour over vast amounts of other evidence, Leyta County District Judge John Judge is still weighing scheduling and a defense motion to have the trial move to another county. And the victim's families are still waiting for justice. So I doubt it's going to be moved to another county like we've discussed previously. I think what we'll see instead is people get bused in from other counties giving both sides a bit of a victory. We know that the prosecution doesn't want this to leave Moscow and on the flip side of that and Taylor, well she'd love to get a victory and get it moved out of the Leyta County. But that's not going to happen, not in my opinion. So I think what Judge Judge will do is bring in jurors from a different county and get things cracking off that way. I'm listening to both sides and it's a complicated case, he said during a Wednesday hearing, it's a death penalty case. After Koburger's arrest at the end of December of 2022, a trial had been penciled in for October of 2023. Koburger waved his right to a speedy proceeding, postponing the trial. More recently prosecutors requested a trial date for this June but the defense asked for more time to prepare, seeking a date no earlier than the summer of 2025. So I was hoping for this summer and I thought that that was going to be a legitimate target date, but when you look at all of the evidence that's been piled on and the fact that discovery still hasn't been completed, it's very difficult for me to sit here and tell you that I think that Koburger should be rushed into this defense. I want it to be a home run when all is said and done. I don't want this dude to have any sort of technicality or loophole, I don't want him to have any bit of debris floating around them as he's drowning in this conviction. Even if things aren't done the correct way, if the chain of evidence wasn't respected, anything like that occurred, well, that's going to put the death penalty in jeopardy. We've already seen it in Idaho with Lori Vallow. And make no mistake, the same thing will happen here if the prosecution is out of line. The families of two victims, Kelly Gonsalves and Zanna Cernodel, said in a joint statement that regardless of when the case goes to trial, everything will be reviewed with a flying tooth comb, whether on appeal or by the public. See the thing is, we don't want to wait for an appeal, right? Because God forbid, there is some kind of misconduct or something like that, then the clock has to start all the way over and a new trial. So I would think that everybody wants to avoid that. Go through the evidence again, see, you know, all the gruesome pictures once again, I think one time is going to be plenty. So I want to make sure everything's done right and correct the first time around. We want to start healing, we do. We want to find justice and try to move on from this horrible tragedy. So please, please start making some decision, get to work and quit playing the delay game. They said through their attorney Shannon Gray. The other victims work on Zanna's best friend Madison Morgan and Cernodel's boyfriend Ethan Chapin. Long delays could have a negative impact on witnesses for the defense said James Kazari, a Michigan based attorney who represented murder suspects at trial. Witnesses forget events or even die, depending on the length of time between charges and trial. He told Fox News Digital, the defendant essentially loses his ability to confer with potential defense witnesses or even to keep track of their whereabouts. Hard to present a defense in those situations. Also evidence gets lost or destroyed. So it's a two way street, right? It's a double edged sword and Ann Taylor and Brian Coburger's team. They understand that they're really up against it here. You want to talk about being down at the end of the game and looking to toss a Hail Mary, that's where they're at. And unless there was some sort of prosecutorial misconduct in the early stages and something wasn't collected right or something like that, I just don't see how Coburger has any way out of this. Although Coburger waved a six amendment right to a speedy trial, legal precedent upholds at the passage of time, makes proof of any fact more difficult, he said. That cuts both ways though, impacting prosecutors as well. The delays are bad for the prosecution, said Niyama Rachmani, a former assistant US attorney whose cases included the successful prosecution of a fugitive killer featured on America's most wanted Logan Quiroga. His memories fade and evidence can disappear over time and the victims' families deserve justice, Rachmani added. If the defense doesn't expect helpful testimony from the lone eyewitness, delays could be part of their plan, said Joseph G. Colone, a retired NYPD sergeant, and a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, but that's not his main concern. And Joseph G. Colone has had these concerns from the very beginning and I think of all the people that have concerns about what went down. These concerns right here are the most valid. It is Ryan Seacrest here. Everybody needs some variety in life. That's what I love about Chumba Casino. They know how to keep things fresh and exciting. All their games are free to play, like spin slots, bingo and solitaire. You can claim free daily login bonuses too, and they release new games every week. So spice things up with Chumba Casino dot com now for your chance to redeem some serious prizes. So sponsored by Chumba Casino, no purchase necessary, VGW Group, void where prohibited by law, 18 plus terms and conditions apply. The lay until everyone forgets or dies, he told Fox News Digital, I have worries about the case. Delays aren't one of them, those issues, he said, are related to physical evidence in the case. I have two big ones, he said, how the crime scene was handled and what, if anything, was found in his vehicle. There's no way you could pull off a vicious scene like that without transferring blood out into the snow and into his vehicle. And these are all very valid valid points. And I can't wait to see what the prosecution has to say about this. Now that vehicle, it could have been prepared previously right with plastic and all the rest of it so that the transfer, if there was transfer of blood, wouldn't occur. And then he takes that long route on the way home and gets rid of all the evidence and a burn pit or whatever, very possible. But the prosecution is going to have to explain to the jury, if there wasn't all kinds of transfer DNA and blood into the car, how that occurred and how that's possible. Geocolon is questioned the integrity of the crime scene during the early stages of the investigation, the eventual release of the scene and personal effects inside the home and the destruction of the building, all the concerns that I have as well. If we're talking about things that are going to have the prosecution in jeopardy, these are all issues that are valid concerns. I don't think the delay is something that is a valid concern from anyone besides the families at this point, considering, you know, the massive amount of evidence in this case. I can understand why the families want justice right away, but the rest of us, we should be demanding that not only justice is provided, but that everything is done by the book so that the prosecution can get the ultimate penalty for Brian Coleberger if he is in fact guilty. Did the gatekeeper keep a record of who entered the crime scene at what time, what they did and what time they left, he asked? Lots of video where the cop never gets out of the car. Was there a sign in sheet inside? Who was supervising it, being used, and these are all very valid questions, and hopefully the prosecution, they have answers. When this all first cracked off, remember, it was just Moscow PD who was at the scene. The FBI arrived a little bit later. So was the crime scene contaminated early on? That was certainly one of my concerns. If you go back and listen to those episodes from early on, crime scene contamination was a big one because we're dealing with, you know, a very sensitive situation inside of that home. So hopefully everything was done on the up and up because if it wasn't, this is the sort of thing that the defense is going to try and sink their teeth into to try and get, you know, the death penalty off the table and whatever else, as far as concessions go that they can get from the judge. Geochlone also took issue with the decision to return the victim's belongings to family members while police were still monitoring the scene, and he highlighted the initial decision to bring in a cleaning crew to clear out the house, which was canceled the following day before a suspect had been arrested and defense investigators arrived. Coburger, a 29 year old Pennsylvania criminology PhD student was attending Washington State University employment across the state line from Moscow, Idaho, where prosecutors alleged he entered an off campus home around 4 a.m. on November 13, 2022 and massacred four students with a large knife. Well folks, it's my guess that this debate is going to only grow as we get more decisions from judge judge, and as we make our way towards the finish line, because there's going to be more hurdles, there's going to be more issues that arise, and there is going to be more outrage from both sides, and both sides are going to try and make their point and push their narrative to judge judge. But when all is said and done, all of that's going to have to withstand the scrutiny of the jury. So we'll see how everything plays out over the coming weeks and months as we prepare for the trial of Brian Coburger. All of the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box. I'm Victoria Cash, and I want to invite you to a place called Lucky Land, where you can play over a hundred social casino style games for free for your chance to redeem some serious prizes. So what are you waiting for? The best way to discover your luck is to spin. 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