Bryan Kohberger defense behind gag order request in Idaho murders, new batch of court docs reveal

MOSCOW, Idaho – The Coeur d’Alene defense attorney for University of Idaho mass-stabbing suspect Bryan Kohberger filed requests to halt the scheduled Dec. 30 crime scene cleanup and for a gag order restricting public comment on the case, newly unsealed court documents revealed Friday. 

Prior to Kohberger’s arrest after a raid on his parents’ house in Pennsylvania, Moscow police announced that a crime scene remediation crew would begin work “removing potential biohazards and other harmful substances used to collect evidence” from the King Road house, where four students were attacked in their sleep in the predawn hours of Nov. 13, 2022.

The prior day, Judge Megan Marshall signed off on an arrest warrant naming Kohberger as the suspect around 2:22 p.m. PT, the documents show.

Less than 12 hours later, Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI burst into the Kohberger residence in a gated community in Albrightsville, in the Poconos about 90 miles north of Philadelphia.

UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO MURDERS TIMELINE

That morning, across the country, Kootenai County Public Defender Anne Taylor was provisionally appointed to the case – which, barring a change in venue, is being heard in neighboring Latah County.

In a pair of filings, Taylor invoked her client’s Fifth Amendment rights and asked the court to preserve the crime scene and evidence. 

READ INVOCATION OF RIGHTS (APP USERS GO HERE)

READ MOTION TO PRESERVE CRIME SCENE AND EVIDENCE (APP USERS GO HERE)

A crime scene cleanup crew arrived at the King Road house around 8:30 a.m. and began preparing to remediate the home. Workers entered the home about 15 minutes later. At 9:02, they abruptly left.

On Jan. 3, Taylor and a team of investigators for the defense were seen at the house, examining evidence that remained behind weeks after police carried out the victims’ belongings.

IDAHO MURDERS: BRYAN KOHBERGER HELD WITHOUT BOND IN STUDENT SLAYINGS AMID CHILLING NEW DETAILS

Taylor and her office ignored several requests for comment from Fox News Digital throughout the morning and afternoon.

Around 3:45 p.m., the court received her request for a gag order barring lawyers for both sides and other authorities from communicating with the public about the case.

READ TAYLOR’S STIPULATION FOR NONDISSEMINATION ORDER (APP USERS CLICK HERE)

IDAHO MURDERS: RIDE ALONG BRYAN KOHBERGER’S SUSPECTED ROUTE HOME FROM STUDENT STABBINGS CRIME SCENE

Despite the order, many details from the investigation are expected to come to light in court proceedings – the first of which came from a 19-page probable cause affidavit unsealed Thursday just minutes before Kohberger made his first appearance before Judge Marshall.

Bill Thompson, the Latah County prosecuting attorney, said as much at a news briefing following the arrest.

“Your primary source of factual information is going to be the court record, because that’s what the Supreme Court says we need to refer you to,” Thompson told reporters during the Dec. 30 briefing. “So please pay attention to what’s going on in court and have people there to watch and hear what’s being said.”

Marshall ordered Kohberger held without bail on five charges – four counts of first-degree murder and another of felony burglary for allegedly entering a house with the intent to kill.

He is due back in court on Jan. 12 at 10 a.m. PT.

The 28-year-old was a student at Washington State University, roughly 10 miles from the University of Idaho, where all four victims were undergrads.

Kohberger was studying for a Ph.D. in WSU’s department of criminal justice and criminology.

He had a master’s degree in the subject from DeSales University, and as part of a project there, had asked a Reddit forum for ex-cons if anyone wanted to take part in a study into “how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime.”

Fox News’ Austin Westfall contributed to this report.