Bringing Bryan Kohberger jury to Idaho students' home could be 'logistics nightmare' with no payoff: lawyer
Fox News
Defense attorney says demolition of University of Idaho students' home before Bryan Kohberger's trial may not impact jurors as much as critics anticipate.
Crews prepare on Dec. 27, 2023, for the next day's demolition of the house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) Crews prepare on Dec. 27, 2023, for the next day's demolition of the house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) Crews prepare on Dec. 27, 2023, for the next day's demolition of the house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) Crews prepare on Dec. 27, 2023, for the next day's demolition of the house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) Crews prepare on Dec. 27, 2023, for the next day's demolition of the house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) Crews prepare on Dec. 27, 2023, for the next day's demolition of the house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) Crews prepare on Dec. 27, 2023, for the next day's demolition of the house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) Crews prepare on Dec. 27, 2023, for the next day's demolition of the house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) Crews prepare on Dec. 27, 2023, for the next day's demolition of the house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) Crews prepare on Dec. 27, 2023, for the next day's demolition of the house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) The house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, sits boarded up in Moscow, Idaho on Dec. 27, 2023. Demolition of the home is scheduled to begin on Dec. 28. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) The house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, sits boarded up in Moscow, Idaho on Dec. 27, 2023. Demolition of the home is scheduled to begin on Dec. 28. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) The house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, sits boarded up in Moscow, Idaho on Dec. 27, 2023. Demolition of the home is scheduled to begin on Dec. 28. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) The house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, sits boarded up in Moscow, Idaho on Dec. 27, 2023. Demolition of the home is scheduled to begin on Dec. 28. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) The house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, sits boarded up in Moscow, Idaho on Dec. 27, 2023. Demolition of the home is scheduled to begin on Dec. 28. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) The house at 1122 King Road, where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, sits boarded up in Moscow, Idaho on Dec. 27, 2023. Demolition of the home is scheduled to begin on Dec. 28. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital) You've got to get 12 jurors, plus your alternates, get them onto a bus, get them there on time, make sure nobody is touching anything or talking to them. You've got to feed them. You've got bathroom breaks. And then you've got your staff, the prosecution, the defense, the court staff, the judge, everybody has to be there, along with law enforcement. The logistics alone is a nightmare. Michael Ruiz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to michael.ruiz@fox.com and on Twitter: @mikerreports
Some critics of the decision, including several family members of the victims, want the house to remain standing until the suspected killer, Bryan Kohberger, goes to trial. However, keeping the house standing could prove to be a "logistics nightmare" that does not impact the jury in the long run, one expert said.
Other high-profile murder cases have involved jury visits to the scene of the crime with mixed results. O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder charges in his early 1990s trial for the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Jurors convicted Alex Murdaugh in the shooting deaths of his wife and son after visiting the family's Moselle estate earlier this year, where prosecutors said the disgraced South Carolina lawyer gunned them down near the dog kennel.