(NewsNation) — Attorneys for accused killer Bryan Kohberger are keeping their defense strategy close to the chest, saying an alibi could come forward later in the trial.
In court filings, Bryan Kohberger’s attorneys said he is going to remain silent regarding a possible alibi at this time, and that an alibi might come forward at a future date, if and when Kohberger chooses to testify on his own behalf.
Kohberger’s deadline to submit an alibi for where he was on the night of the murders was Monday night. While the defense met this deadline with their statement, they did not provide an actual alibi, arguing it is Kohberger’s right to present an alibi while testifying.
Legal analyst and defense attorney Mark Geragos said Tuesday on “CUOMO” the defense team may be employing the strategy as a way to prevent the state from “inventing around that alibi.”
“They are going to, within the prosecution’s case … cross-examine one of the prosecution witnesses, and that’s going to suggest that he was not there,” Geragos said.
Florida state prosecutor Dave Aronberg disagrees.
“I think if they had an alibi, they would have revealed the alibi. They were given an extension by the court, and they came up with nothing,” Aronberg said on “CUOMO.” “Even if you don’t come up with your alibi in advance, the judge is always going to bend over backwards to make sure the defendant has a fair trial, and if there is a witness at the last minute who’s an alibi witness, they’re going to let the guy or woman testify.”
In the meantime, the defense is poking holes in whatever they can, particularly the evidence of the knife sheath and the DNA that was found on it. This is the biggest piece of evidence the state has put forward.
Kohberger’s attorneys are now claiming the DNA found on the sheath, which matches Kohberger, could have been planted there by police officers or the investigating crime lab.
“The State’s argument asks this court and Mr. Kohberger to assume — is that the DNA on the sheath was placed there by Mr. Kohberger and not someone else during an investigation that spans hundreds of members of law enforcement and apparently at least one lab the State refuses to name,” Kohberger’s attorneys said in a recent court filing.
The state is pushing back against that theory, saying they don’t believe the theory supports any preparation the defense should be making for their client.
Kohberger is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of four University of Idaho students, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, after they were stabbed to death in November 2022.
Kohberger entered a not-guilty plea in May. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case.
