Lawyers for Idaho quadruple murder suspect Brian Koberg recently accused FBI agents of interfering with witnesses involved in the case.
Coberg, 28, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony larceny in the stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20. All four victims were University of Idaho students who were killed in an off-campus residence last November.
Coberg, who has maintained his innocence in the case, had previously remained silent during the arraignment, leading Judge John Judge to enter a not guilty plea to each charge on his behalf.
During a recent court appearance, Coberg’s lead attorney, Anne Taylor, spoke about a recent witness, genetic genealogist Gabriella Vargas, who recently appeared in court to talk about DNA and DNA match.
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“Two FBI agents visited her last night and questioned her testimony,” Taylor said of Vargas in court, according to Law & Crime on Saturday. affected Mr. Coberg’s due process rights.”
Latta County Attorney Bill Thompson responded in court that he “contacted investigators and said, ‘Can you find out what happened?'”
Thompson added that FBI agents asked to speak with Vargas in response to her potentially questioning parts of her testimony, Thompson added, according to Law & Crime.
Last month, Coberg’s attorneys called several DNA experts to testify as witnesses to help testify parts of the case, as well as DNA matching evidence prosecutors found on Coberg and DNA found on a knife sheath found at the murder scene. features are disputed.
Weekly newspaper Coberg’s attorney and the FBI were reached by email for comment.
Meanwhile, a grand jury has previously indicted Coberg on each of the charges he now faces. However, his legal team continued to file motions seeking to dismiss the indictment.
“The formation of the grand jury comes at a time when a small community in Moscow, Idaho has been the subject of six months of intense local, national and international media coverage,” Coberg’s attorneys said in a June motion. “Because of the state’s extensive discovery, Mr. Coberg knows that exculpatory evidence exists. Whether a fair and impartial grand jury panel has been assembled amidst the intense media coverage is an important issue that the defense must evaluate.”
Idaho previously announced they plan to seek the death penalty against Coberg, who recently waived his right to a speedy trial.
