MOSCOW, Idaho (NEWSnet/AP) — Attorneys for the man charged with stabbing four University of Idaho students to death in 2022 are seeking a change of venue.

The lawyers claim defendant Bryan Kohberger cannot receive a fair trial in the community where the killings occurred.

Anne Taylor, Kohberger’s lead public defender, asked Judge John Judge of Idaho’s 2nd Judicial District in Latah County to schedule a hearing no earlier than the end of April to hear arguments on the potential move, The Idaho Statesman reported.

“A fair and impartial jury cannot be found in Latah County, owing to the extensive, inflammatory pretrial publicity, allegations made about Mr. Kohberger to the public by media that will be inadmissible at his trial, the small size of the community, the salacious nature of the alleged crimes, and the severity of the charges Mr. Kohberger faces,” Taylor wrote.

Kohberger, 29, is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near the university campus in Moscow, Idaho.

Last week, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson told the judge he opposes a change of venue, stating that Latah County deserves a chance to seat a jury because the crime occurred there.  Moving the trial elsewhere would have no material effect on potential jurors’ familiarity with the case, he said, because it already  has gained widespread notoriety.

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