MOSCOW, Idaho — On Thursday, a judge in Idaho ruled to lift the gag order that has been in place for Bryan Kohberger’s case since the 30-year-old was arrested nearly three years ago.
Kohberger was accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death inside their off-campus home in November 2022.
Due to the high-profile nature of the case, a judge put a sweeping gag order in place for all law enforcement, victims’ families and lawyers involved to protect Kohberger’s right to a fair trial.
Earlier this month, Kohberger changed his plea from not guilty to guilty in a deal to avoid the death penalty.
Since he pleaded guilty, a coalition of news organizations had asked the court to lift the gag order since a trial is no longer planned.
What will be unsealed?
More than 240 orders sealing documents have been issued in the case since it began in 2022.
These documents include evidence and testimony, among other things.
The media coalition also asked 4th District Judge Steven Hippler to immediately unseal those documents. He said he would go through the documents carefully to determine which ones could be made public, but said that process would not start until the sentencing is over.
Kohberger will be sentenced to multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole on July 23.
Attorneys and investigators can now publicly discuss the case, though they have declined interview requests for now.
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