(NewsNation) — Attorneys for Idaho killings suspect Bryan Kohberger are asking the court to unseal a motion to dismiss the case.

The defense team is arguing the motion and pleadings do not need to be sealed and that the public has a right to be informed on the issue. A judge has issued a gag order in the case, which has attracted a significant amount of attention nationwide.

Kohberger, a former graduate student at the Washington State University, is being charged with murder in the deaths of four University of Idaho students. Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were found stabbed to death in an off-campus house in November 2022. Two other roommates were unharmed.

The case attracted attention and speculation across the country as police tried to retrace the students’ movements and identify a suspect. The killings shocked the small town of Moscow, Idaho, and police initially appeared to have no suspects.

Investigators used familial DNA and other evidence, including Kohberger’s car, to identify him as a suspect and arrest him at his family home in Pennsylvania.

Kohberger was studying criminal justice at nearby Washington State University at the time of the killings. His defense team has requested the indictments be dismissed and worked to have the DNA evidence excluded from trial.

If convicted, Kohberger faces the death penalty.