- Bryan Kohberger, 28, is accused of killing four University of Idaho students.
- Prosecutors have disclosed “potential Brady/Giglio material” about an officer involved in the Kohberger case.
- Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall granted a protective request by prosecutors to keep the material from being publicly disclosed.
Prosecutors in Idaho have this week disclosed that an officer who worked on the Bryan Kohberger case has been the subject of a “confidential internal affairs investigation.”
Kohberger, 28, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary in the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
The four University of Idaho students were found stabbed to death in a rental home in Moscow on November 13 last year.
Kohberger, who was a graduate student at Washington State University in Pullman at the time of the killings, has not yet entered a plea to the charges, but a lawyer who previously represented him said he was “eager to be exonerated.”
A preliminary hearing is set to begin in late June.
On Monday prosecutors submitted a notice to Latah County District Court about “potential Brady/Giglio material” related to an officer involved in the Kohberger investigation.
Ted S. Warren/Pool-Getty Images
A Brady notice, or Brady/Giglio, refers to the duty of prosecutors to disclose potentially exculpatory evidence, under direction from the Supreme Court in Brady v. Maryland.
In Giglio v. United States, this duty was expanded to include evidence that could be used to impeach the credibility of a witness.
Latah County Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall granted a protective order requested by prosecutors to keep the material from being publicly disclosed, because they are personnel records.
The order means the material cannot be made public by Kohberger’s defense team.
During an appearance on NewsNation, criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos explained how Brady/Giglio notices can work.
“If it was just something that would impeach [the officer’s] credibility, that would generally be Giglio. If it is something that is potentially exculpatory, then that is Brady,” Geragos said.
“They call this Brady material, which leads me to believe that it’s an accusation that this is something that has either been falsified, or there’s an investigation as to whether it is falsified.”
Geragos added that this “does not necessarily mean” the internal affairs inquiry is related to the Kohberger investigation.
“However, if it is in a prior case, and that is generally what this is in a Brady disclosure, that can potentially be used in this case. The reason that they can potentially use it is because they can cross-examine on it, they could ask other witnesses as to what happened.”
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