Grand jury indicts man in 4 University of Idaho stabbing deaths, eliminating need for hearing

BOISE, Idaho — A grand jury has indicted a man who was already charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, allowing prosecutors to skip a planned week-long preliminary hearing that was set for late June.

Bryan Kohberger was arrested late last year and charged with burglary and four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Nov. 13, 2022, killings of Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near the University of Idaho campus. At the time, Kohberger was a graduate student studying criminology at nearby Washington State University, and the killings left the close-knit communities of Moscow, Idaho, and Pullman, Washington, reeling.

A preliminary hearing — where prosecutors must show a judge that there is enough evidence to justify moving forward with felony charges — was scheduled to begin June 26. But on Tuesday, a grand jury indicted Kohberger on the same charges, effectively rerouting the case directly to the state’s felony court level and allowing prosecutors to skip the preliminary hearing process.