Bryan Kohberger is facing four charges of first-degree murder for the brutal stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. It’s shaping up to be one of the most intensely watched trials of the decade — and maybe the biggest in Idaho’s history.
We’re still months away, but we’ve already seen a lot of major evidence. But what’s the most important? What will be the most compelling to the jury?
The US Sun spoke to an expert — Joseph Scott Morgan, a distinguished Scholar of Applied Forensics at Jacksonville State University — about what is likely to be the most “powerful.” It should be noted Morgan is not working on the case, so he has no direct knowledge. Other evidence could still come to light, especially in this case where the Moscow Police Department and prosecutors have chosen to keep so much close the vest. But of everything the public has gotten to see so far from various sources — the probable cause affidavit, the arrest warrant, various search warrants, and even leaks from law enforcement sources — what’s going to make the biggest impact?
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Morgan noted the “biological tiebacks and threads” we’ve already heard about as being “very significant in this case.” Not only are we talking about DNA evidence — scientific evidence, not so easily disputed as eyewitness testimony — it’s on a weapon! Or at least, it’s on the accessory of a weapon. That first affidavit revealed the shocking fact that the killer left the sheath from their knife, a Ka-Bar fixed-blade combat knife, by the body of Maddie Mogen. It’s unclear if it fell off in the struggle or what, but it’s an overwhelming piece of evidence. Morgan says:
“The sheath, the knife – if they can get their hands on it – is gonna be significant in here.”
It’s not just about tracking down ownership of the knife, the sheath can be tracked directly to Kohberger through DNA found on it. Investigators were able to match it as the offspring of Kohberger’s father from trash they took from his parents’ Pennsylvania home. Morgan says it will be even more profound if they can find the matching knife as well:
“I think, particularly when you go before a jury, if you can put a physical weapon into the hand of the alleged perpetrator, that’s powerful stuff.”
Will the actual murder weapon ever be found?
Related: Was Maddie Mogen The True Target Of The Idaho Killer??
If so, paired with the crime scene photos, it should be a slam dunk, thinks Morgan. He is of course referencing the gruesome injuries we’ve heard described by family members who have spoken to the coroner — injuries which were enough to cause blood to literally leak through the walls to the outside of the home. We’ve heard about what the knife did, but the jury will be seeing it up close and personal. Morgan says:
“In this particular case, this weapon, these injuries, I don’t know that anybody can fathom what they’re going to see in court. It’s gonna be really horrific.”
He believes if they can see the photos of the injuries AND the knife — “the means by which these were generated” — side-by-side, that’ll basically be the smoking gun.
However, of course, we have no idea how much more evidence is left to see. Morgan referenced Kohberger’s car as “a rolling crime scene” where much more might be found:
“He walked into the scene clean, he came out, he would’ve been bathed in blood.”
We know the cops seized parts of the car, including the seat cushions, the pedals, a door panel.
“And then when he got out of that car, he introduced potential evidence into his own dwelling.”
The cops reportedly found blood and multiple hairs at Kohberger’s apartment. It has yet to be confirmed who the hairs belonged to, but if any are from the victims, that’s even more airtight. We’ll just have to see what investigators find when the trial eventually begins.
[Image via Fox 13 Seattle/YouTube/Kaylee Goncalves/Instagram.]
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