Idaho prosecutors released evidence to Bryan Kohberger’s legal team Monday that they say involves an internal affairs investigation into an officer who was part of the University of Idaho murder case.
The state filed for a protective order to keep the investigation from the public, saying it wanted to release the investigation as «potential Brady/Giglio material.» It is unclear what the internal affairs investigation involved, when it was launched and how central the officer was to the murder investigation at the university.
Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students: Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. They were found in an off-campus residence hall with multiple stab wounds on the morning of on November 13, after they returned home around 2 a.m. after a night out.
Police announced the arrest of Kohberger, who was a doctoral student at Washington State University, on December 30. Investigators said they found DNA evidence connecting him to the crime, and a search of his apartment turned up a pillow with a «reddish/brown stain.» ”, a disposable glove and at least a dozen strands of hair.
Prosecutors made the disclosure Monday under the state’s Brady law obligations, which require prosecutors to disclose evidence that could be beneficial in a suspect’s case. Brady’s material could include evidence that goes against the credibility of a witness, according to Cornell Law School.
The United States Supreme Court ruled in 1985 that the prosecution is required to reveal evidence favorable to a person accused of a crime.
Violation of Brady law obligations could result in a mistrial or a vacated conviction.
Adnan Syed, who was convicted of a Baltimore murder in 2000 and had his charges dropped last year, was released in part because of a rape by Brady at his trial. Prosecutors requested that a judge overturn his sentence due to new DNA evidence and the failure to disclose two other suspects in Hae Min Lee’s murder.
An appeals panel reinstated his charges Tuesday in a procedural move to allow Lee’s family to attend a new hearing to overturn the sentence.