(NewsNation) — New court documents from the defense team for accused Idaho college killings suspect Bryan Kohberger describe a chaotic scene when he was arrested at his parent’s home.
The court filings come as Kohberger’s lawyers work to suppress several pieces of evidence, including statements made during his arrest and evidence obtained through links to Kohberger’s genetic information his lawyers say was collected illegally.
Bryan Kohberger charged in deaths of Idaho college students
Kohberger, 29, is charged in the deaths of four University of Idaho students who were found stabbed to death in an off-campus house in November of 2022.
The deaths of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, shocked the small town of Moscow, Idaho. Initially, investigators had few leads and spent considerable time tracing the activities of the four students in the hours prior to their deaths.
At the time, Kohberger was a graduate student at nearby Washington State University, where he was working toward a Ph.D. in criminology.
This July 2022 photo provided by Jazzmin Kernodle shows University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle, right, and Ethan Chapin on a boat on Priest Lake, in Idaho. Both students were among four found stabbed to death in an off-campus rental home on Nov. 13. (Jazzmin Kernodle via AP) 
Credit: @kayleegoncalves Instagram 
FILE – Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, is escorted into court for a hearing in Latah County District Court, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool, File) 
Fotografía proporcionada por la prisión del condado Monroe, Pensilvania, de Bryan Kohberger. (Monroe County (Pa.) Correctional Facility vía AP)
Kohberger was arrested at his parent’s home in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings. The court filings describe the scene that night, alleging that law enforcement shattered a sliding glass door to the home and held the entire family at gunpoint.
What do Bryan Kohberger’s lawyers want?
Kohberger’s lawyers say that he made statements to officers while having his hands zip-tied and being surrounded at gunpoint despite not having had his rights read to him.
The defense team wants to have those statements thrown out, along with evidence obtained as a result of investigators using familial DNA to link Kohberger to a knife sheath found at the scene.
Prosecutors have argued that the genetic genealogy was only an investigative technique and the evidence used in trial will rely on DNA taken from a cheek swab after Kohberger’s arrest.
Kohberger’s lawyers are arguing any evidence gathered as a result of the familial DNA was illegally collected.
The evidence they want to be thrown out includes phone records used to implicate Kohberger. The team is also challenging the way investigators got search warrants, including warrants authorizing the search of Kohberger’s white Hyundai Elantra and his Apple and Amazon accounts.
The trial for Kohberger is set to begin in August, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.