The new judge overseeing next year’s trial of the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students has moved back its tentative start date to August from June.
Ada County District Court Judge Steven Hippler’s order, dated Tuesday, comes after suspect Bryan Kohberger made his first appearance in a Boise court on Sept. 26.
The judge wants the trial to begin Aug. 11 and said it could run through Nov. 7, including a penalty phase if Kohberger is convicted.
A previous judge granted a request from Kohberger’s lawyers to move the trial venue to Boise, Idaho’s capital, about 300 miles away from Latah County. His lawyers cited potential bias in jury selection if the trial were held in Moscow, the small college town where the killings occurred in November 2022.
After a series of delays, the previous judge wanted the trial to begin next June so that it could run through the summer in Latah County and avoid coinciding with students in…
