Kohberger is sent to Boise prison after secret transport

The man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students has been booked into the Ada County Jail, authorities said.

The Ada County Sheriff's Office announced that 29-year-old Bryan Kohberger arrived at the Ada County Jail, 7210 Barrister Drive in Boise, on Sunday morning. According to jail records, he is being held without bail. The transport was secret and officials declined to release details in advance for “security reasons,” sheriff's office spokeswoman Lauren Montague told the Idaho Statesman on Thursday. Capt. Ryan Jensen of the Ada County Sheriff's Office said Kohberger was transported on an Idaho State Police plane. According to flight records, the plane departed Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport at 6:25 a.m. and landed at Boise Airport at 8:21 a.m.

The sheriff's office considered “all possible options” before relocating Kohberger and ultimately decided to ask the Idaho State Police for assistance.

“If we were to put him in a van or bus and drive him — that would obviously be a five- to six-hour drive — we would be exposed to all sorts of complications that could arise along the way — road closures, a blown tire or something like that,” Ryan told the Statesman by phone. “We thought, 'Why don't we leverage our partnership with (the Idaho State Police) and transport him the quickest, most efficient way possible?'”

Ryan said the transport was “a complicated process involving several different agencies,” including the Latah County Sheriff's Office and Washington State Police. “Overall, it went very, very smoothly and without any complications,” Ryan said. “We're glad it happened safely.”

Once in Boise, Kohberger was placed alone in a prison cell with no additional security, according to Ryan. “He's being placed alone simply because that's the safest for him, the safest for the other inmates, and the safest for our staff,” Ryan said. “And that's consistent with what we've done with other high-profile inmates we've had in our prison recently.”

The former Washington State University graduate student is accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students in their home in November 2022. Prosecutors charged him with four counts of premeditated murder and one count of aggravated burglary in connection with the fatal stabbings at an off-campus home in Moscow.

The victims were Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle, both 20, and Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21.

Responsibility for Kohbeger's custody was shifted from Latah County to Ada County on Thursday after the Idaho Supreme Court issued a new order.

Kohberger's trial and any subsequent proceedings will take place in the Ada County Courthouse in Boise and will be presided over by District Judge Steven Hippler, the judges said.

The trial is scheduled to take place between June 2 and August 29 next year. It is unclear if the new changes will delay the trial even further. Latah County will continue to pay for costs incurred during the trial, according to Idaho Code 19-1806.

The main reasons for moving the trial from Moscow and Latah County were the small number of jurors, too few police officers and court clerks, and the small courthouse.

The Ada District Court has already demonstrated its ability to hold high-profile trials in recent years with the trials of Chad and Lori Daybell. “The Trial Court Administrator and the Fourth Judicial District Court, in collaboration with several county offices and agencies, do an excellent job of coordinating the extensive logistical, security and media issues associated with high-profile cases in Ada County,” the Ada County Board of Commissioners said in an emailed statement to the Idaho Statesman. “We are confident they will do the same with this high-profile case.”