Moscow, Idaho – A judge’s decision on Thursday allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Bryan Kohberger in connection with the murder of four University of Idaho students in 2022. Despite Kohberger’s recent autism diagnosis, the ruling permits the pursuit of a capital punishment sentence if he is convicted.

Kohberger, 30, faces charges for the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near the university campus in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022. The trial is scheduled to commence in August, with prosecutors expressing their intent to push for the death penalty should Kohberger be found guilty.

In response to the prosecution’s stance, Kohberger’s legal team appealed to Judge Steven Hippler to exclude the death penalty as a potential punishment due to the defendant’s autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. They have also filed various motions challenging the death penalty, highlighting alleged state evidence violations.

Arguing in court documents, Kohberger’s defense attorneys asserted that his autism spectrum disorder diminishes his culpability, removes the deterrent effect of capital punishment, and heightens the risk of wrongful conviction and death sentence imposition. They contended that executing an individual with autism would violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

Prosecutors countered by citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent, stating that only an intellectual disability, not autism, could prevent the imposition of the death penalty. Kohberger, a graduate student in criminal justice at Washington State University in Pullman, located approximately 10 miles from Moscow, was apprehended in Pennsylvania a few weeks after the November 2022 killings. Authorities linked his DNA to genetic material discovered on a knife sheath at the crime scene.

Autopsies revealed that the victims were likely asleep during the attacks, sustaining multiple stab wounds, some displaying defensive injuries. The horrific nature of the murders has gripped the community, as legal proceedings unfold to bring justice to the victims and their families.