murder suspect Bryan Kohberger appears in Idaho court with his public defender, Anne Taylor
The judge overseeing the Idaho quadruple murder case issued a gag order after the latest leak to PEOPLE.
Bryan Kohberger, 28, is accused of fatally stabbing 20-year-old Ethan Chapin of Conway, Washington; 21-year-old Madison Mogen of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; 20-year-old Xana Kernodle of Avondale, Arizona; and 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves of Rathdrum, Idaho on November 13.
murder victims from left: Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle
The killer murdered the victims around 4:17 am (between 4:00 and 4:25) based on testimony from one of the surviving roommates.
According to the court documents, Kohberger’s DNA was found on a tan leather knife sheath left behind on Maddie Mogen’s bed on the 3rd floor at the King Road Residence.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 26 so in the meantime reporters have been relying on leaks from sources.
PEOPLE reported last week that Kohberger had repeatedly “direct messaged” one of the female victims on Instagram and she never responded.
“He slid into one of the girls’ DMs several times, but she didn’t respond,” an investigator told People. “Basically, it was just him saying, ‘Hey, how are you?’ But he did it again and again.”
PEOPLE on Thursday reported that Bryan Kohberger dined at “Mad Greek,” a restaurant in Moscow where two of the female victims – Maddie Mogen and Xana Kernodle worked as servers.
Kohberger, a vegan with ‘OCD eating habits,’ reportedly ordered Mad Greek’s vegan pizza.
PEOPLE reported:
In the weeks before the slayings of four University of Idaho students last November, the man now accused of killing them allegedly ate at the restaurant where two of the victims worked.
According to a former employee at the Mad Greek restaurant in Moscow, Idaho, Bryan Kohberger came in at least twice to grab vegan pizza. Two of the victims — Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle — were servers at the restaurant.
It’s unclear if either woman ever waited on Kohberger, or if they even interacted, but PEOPLE confirms that a now-deleted account that appeared to belong to Kohberger once followed both Mogen and Kernodle on Instagram along with the third female murder victim, Kaylee Goncalves.
PEOPLE has also confirmed, via an investigator familiar with the case, that law enforcement is aware of the restaurant visits and that investigators have interviewed employees and owners of the Mad Greek. They have also collected surveillance video from the restaurant and surrounding businesses.
The owner of Mad Greek denied the story and lashed out at PEOPLE and crime reporters for fabricating stories.
“The news/media should really do their due diligence before running a story with completely fabricated information. This will be my only response to this story from People… It is not true.
This person who wants their 5 minutes of fame has now caused a whole bunch of extra work for myself and the investigators.” – Mad Greek said on Facebook.
Judge Megan Marshall, overseeing the case against Kohberger, immediately expanded the existing gag order following the story published by PEOPLE.
The amended gag order “now restricts the remarks of attorneys for the victims, their families and witnesses – in addition to investigators, the prosecution and defense.” Fox News reported.
22 news outlets have formed a coalition to narrow the expanded gag order, the Associated Press reported.
“This order is unnecessarily sweeping and broad and severely impedes the public’s understanding of a significant criminal investigation that profoundly impacted the community,” said Josh Hoffner, national news director for The Associated Press.
Click here to read the probable cause affidavit and read through and analysis.
Click here to read the unsealed search warrant on Bryan Kohberger’s Pullman, Washington apartment.