Judge in U of I killings invites special investigation of gag order violations
The judge in the quadruple homicide case involving four University of Idaho students opened the door Thursday to appointing a special prosecutor to investigate potential violations of the court’s standing gag order less than a week after NBC’s “Dateline” revealed in an episode previously unreleased details about the investigation.
Judge Steven Hippler, of Idaho’s 4th Judicial District, entered orders that require the prosecution and defense in Bryan Kohberger’s murder trial to retain all records related to possible violations of the nondissemination order that has been in place since early January 2023.
“Based on sensitive information not previously publicly circulated that was reported during a recent ‘Dateline’ TV program related to this case and the defendant Bryan Kohberger, it appears likely that someone currently or formally associated with law enforcement, or the prosecution team, violated this court’s nondissemination order,” Hippler wrote in the order. “Such violations not only undermine the rule of law, potentially by persons charged with upholding it, but also significantly impede the ability to seat an impartial jury.”
He added that the suspected gag order violation “will likely substantially increase” costs to taxpayers to prosecute the high-profile case by extending how long it takes to seat a jury — and by adding the potential need to sequester those selected during this summer’s trial, expected to last three months.
Hippler filed a separate, nearly identical order specific to the defense.
Kohberger, 30, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the November 2022 stabbing deaths of the four U of I students at a home near the Moscow campus. At the time, he was a Ph.D. student in the criminal justice and criminology department at Washington State University in nearby Pullman.
The four victims were Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene; Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls; and Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington. The three women lived in the off-campus home on King Road with two female roommates who went physically unharmed in the attack. Chapin was Kernodle’s boyfriend and stayed over for the night.
A Latah County court gag order, or nondissemination order, has was issued in the days after Kohberger’s arrest in late December 2022. It “prohibits any communication by investigators, law enforcement personnel, attorneys, and agents of the prosecuting attorney or defense attorney concerning this case,” according to a Moscow Police Department news release from the time.
Hippler left the gag order in place after the closely watched murder case was moved from Moscow to Boise late last year. Members of law enforcement, as agents of the prosecution, are included as part of the court’s prohibition on statements about the case outside of the court record.
Special prosecutor would have subpoena power
During Thursday’s public court hearing, which began a half-hour after its scheduled start time, Hippler referenced a closed-door session held earlier that day. Looking toward Kohberger’s defense team, Hippler told attorneys he would be “open to a request for an appointment of a special prosecutor. From there, that person could ask a magistrate judge grant subpoena power for the ability to question witnesses under oath, and to grant immunity.
At the hearing, Hippler did not directly mention the “Dateline” episode, which cited unnamed sources close to the investigation, or any specific gag order violation. The information aired in the two-hour special included unreleased surveillance camera footage from a neighboring home, as well as a variety of data purported to be directly from Kohberger’s cellphone, such as Google searches, photos and call logs.
But in his written order, Hippler included the title of the popular NBC true crime program, which broadcast May 9, and stated the importance of locating the origin of the release of case details.
“The court finds it is imperative to attempt to see that the source of such leak is identified and held to account, and that doing so is the best deterrent to future violations,” the judge wrote.
Earlier Thursday, Hippler did make reference to the “Dateline” episode’s air date last week as he addressed the jury selection process, slated for late July. He previously intended to use six alternative jurors, but “after Friday,” Hippler said, he will now add two more — for a total of eight, along with 12 primary jurors. He did not specify what influenced that decision.
“Dateline” did not respond to an emailed request for comment from the Idaho Statesman after Thursday’s hearing. Neither did Howard Blum, an author and special contributor to NBC, who has written a book about the U of I homicides case and appeared prominently in the recent episode in question.
Hippler in his Thursday rulings ordered both the prosecution and defense to file within seven days a list of everyone on their respective teams, past and present, who are known to have access to the unreleased case materials that “Dateline” aired. For the prosecution, that includes all members of law enforcement involved in the investigation.
In addition, on that same timeline, the prosecution is required to file a written plan to prevent “future unauthorized disclosure of information” in the case, and what it proposes to identify any current violations and those responsible.
Kohberger capital murder trial is scheduled for this summer in Boise. On Thursday, Hippler scheduled a new hearing for June 18 to address recent defense filings, with the jury trial set to start by Aug. 11.
This story was originally published May 15, 2025 at 1:21 PM.
