Bryan Kohberger can face death penalty if convicted in Idaho college slayings

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University of Idaho murder suspect back in court for death penalty arguments

Murder suspect Bryan Kohberger hopes to have the death penalty taken off the table before he goes to trial next year in the stabbing deaths of four undergrads.

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Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, can face the death penalty, a judge ruled Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Ada County Judge Steven Hippler denied their motion in his ruling.

“The court concludes relief in defendant’s favor is not warranted on any of the motions,” Hippler wrote in his 55-page order.

The prosecution noted that it intends to seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.

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Bryan Kohberger, right, is escorted into a courtroom to appear at a hearing in Latah County District Court, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho.  (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Hippler pointed to the constitutionality of capital punishment in the U.S., pointing back to the times that the supreme courts of Idaho upheld the death penalty.

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Kohberger’s defense has long-sought to remove the death penalty if the 29-year-old is convicted. 

His defense attorney, Jay Logsdon, previously had argued that the death penalty goes against “contemporary standards of decency.”

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Logsdon previously pointed to the 24 states that allow the death penalty, arguing that support for capital punishment was “bleak.”

“In reality, less than half the states still have the death penalty pursuant to legislative or executive actions,” he wrote. “Taking population of those states into account, support for the death penalty is even bleaker.”

The four victims in the University of Idaho slayings Nov. 13, 2022. (Instagram/@kayleegoncalves)

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Kohberger is accused of the Nov. 2022 stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students at a house near the college campus in Moscow. 

Kohberger was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, in connection with the fatal stabbing of four University of Idaho students – Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.

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He is eligible for the death penalty in Idaho only with a conviction of first-degree murder or conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. 

Story tips and ideas can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on X: @s_rumpfwhitten.