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In a series of orders announced Friday on motions from both sides in the murder case against Idaho student stabbings suspect Bryan Kohberger, the judge said there was no basis to grant a defense request that the lone eyewitness be blocked from mentioning the “bushy eyebrows” she saw on a masked intruder during the murders.
“D.M.’s testimony about ‘bushy eyebrows’ is highly relevant in this case,” Judge Steven Hippler wrote in his order, using the witness’s initials. “D.M. is the only eyewitness to the intruder responsible for the homicides. It is the jury’s task to determine whether Defendant is that person.”
Kohberger’s defense has argued both that he does not have “bushy eyebrows” and that DM’s memory of what she saw may have been influenced by being drunk at the time and a wall covered in artwork and photos showing portraits, faces and prominent eyebrows.
He reserved the right to rule on Kohberger’s purported obsessive-compulsive disorder at a later date.
Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary in the stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
A judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf. Prosecutors have notified the court they intend to seek the death penalty if he is convicted.
The trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 11.