Bryan Kohberger stood silent in court Monday as Judge John Judge entered not guilty pleas on the murder charges in the killings of four University of Idaho college students last November.
Wearing an orange jumpsuit and no handcuffs, Kohberger was escorted by officers into the courtroom at 9:00 a.m.
Kohberger’s lawyer, Kootenai County Public Defender Anne Taylor, told the judge that Kohberger would be “standing silent.” “‘Standing silent’ means the defendant does not take a guilty or not guilty stance but has the same outcome as pleading not guilty,” Fox News’s Michael Ruiz and Audrey Conklin explained.
The arraignment lasted 15 minutes, with the judge listing all five counts against Kohberger. He is charged with four counts of first degree murder and one of burglary. If convicted, Kohberger could face the death penalty. Prosecutors must notify the defense within 60 days if they are going to seek the death penalty.
The trial, expected to last six weeks, is set to begin October 2, less than a year after the gruesome murders.
Victims Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, were found stabbed to death in the three girls’ six-bedroom house located just outside the university campus.
Kohberger was a doctoral student at Washington State University — an eight-minute drive from the University of Idaho campus.
Breitbart reported last week that cell phone records showed Kohberger was near the off-campus house where the students were murdered at least a dozen times before the murders, beginning in June.