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Judge rules the FBI must turn over DNA records in Bryan Kohberger murder case

Judge John Judge of Idaho’s 2nd Judicial District is overseeing the Bryan Kohberger murder case and said they must be turned over by the first of December.
Bryan Kohberger in Court
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LATAH COUNTY, Idaho — A judge has ruled the FBI must turn over DNA records for review in the trial against Bryan Kohberger, the defendant accused in the University of Idaho quadruple murder case.

At a remote hearing held Thursday, Judge John Judge of Idaho’s 2nd Judicial District ruled the documents must be turned over by December 1. Judge will then review those records and decide what information can be kept from the defense.

RELATED | DNA expert weighs in on implications of DNA evidence linking Bryan Kohberger in the Moscow murders

Prosecutors had previously shared that they used investigative genetic genealogy to lead them to their suspect and make an arrest in the case. They said they linked DNA from the knife sheath found at the crime scene to DNA found in the family's trash in Pennsylvania.

Once the DNA recovered from the sheath was tested against Kohberger's cheek swab following his arrest, the profile findings were said to be "at least 5.37 octillion times more likely to be seen if Defendant is the source than if an unrelated individual randomly selected from the population is the source," according to information in the motion for protective order filed June 16. In other words, it was a DNA match.

RELATED | Kohberger's DNA profile linked to evidence at Moscow murder scene

Bryan Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the November 13, 2022 deaths of four students near the University of Idaho.