Prosecutors seeking death penalty for man alleged with causing the 'worst crime scene police have ever seen'

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the man accused of killing four Idaho students in their home.

Idaho County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson will be working to put the accused Bryan Kohberger, 28, behind bars once the trial starts in October.

ABC News

The murders of Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, occurred in November 2022.

The four University of Idaho students had returned to their shared home after a night of partying on 13 November.

Police believe that the four were murdered sometime between 3am and 4am, leaving a crime scene that authorities described as the 'worst they've ever seen'.

On 29 December, a search warrant was filed for Kohberger's Pennsylvania home.

The 28-year-old Washington State University criminology graduate student had his home searched the next day, where medical style gloves and a flashlight were found.

In his Washington apartment, authorities found strands of hair, a Fire TV stick and a pillow with a 'reddish/brown stain' alongside a 'collection of dark red' spotting.

After these searches were carried out, Kohberger was arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary.

His DNA closely matched that found on a knife sheath near the scene of the gruesome murders.

Mobile phone data also shows that he was in the area of the victims’ home multiple times in the months before the November massacre, according to an investigator.

Michelle Bolger - associate professor at DeSales University, a private Catholic university in Pennsylvania - said she was 'shocked' by the news.

CBS

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Bolger described Kohberger as a 'great writer' and a 'brilliant student'.

"In my 10 years of teaching, I’ve only recommended two students to a Ph.D. program and he was one of them," she said.

"He was one of my best students, ever. Everyone is in shock over this."

Bolger continued: "I’m shocked as s**t at what he’s been accused of. I don’t believe it, but I get it. This news is upsetting. I haven’t slept at all since hearing about Bryan."

Bolger taught Kohberger in an online class last year, supporting his master’s thesis.

In May, a not guilty plea was entered in the case on Kohberger’s behalf after he after he chose to 'stand silent' in court.

In new court filing on Monday (26 June), prosecutors wrote that 'considering all evidence currently known to the State, the State is compelled to file this notice of intent to seek the death penalty'.

Kohberger's trial is set for 2 October.