The parents of Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the slayings of four University of Idaho students last year, have been subpoenaed by a Pennsylvania investigative grand jury.
Michael Kohberger is scheduled to testify in Monroe County, Pa., on Thursday, and Maryann Kohberger has already appeared before the panel, CNN reported Wednesday.
Their 28-year-old son — a Ph.D. student at Washington State University, less than 10 miles from where the killings took place — is accused of murdering the four students in their beds in the early-morning hours of Nov. 13. Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were fatally stabbed as they slept at their rented off-campus home in Mosco, Idaho. They were discovered by roommates and friends the next day.
Arrested on Dec. 30 at his parents’ Pennsylvania home, Kohberger faces four counts of murder and one of burglary. He was extradited back to Idaho after waiving his right to fight it.
He was indicted on all five charges last week and pleaded not guilty on Monday.
Kohberger had driven with his father from Pullman, Wash., to his parents’ home in Pennsylvania for the holidays. Under Pennsylvania law, transcripts of the parents’ testimony could be shared with Idaho prosecutors, a source told CNN.
The Kohbergers’ attorney fought the subpoenas but was overruled, the source told the network. Attorneys involved with the case declined to comment, citing the gag order issued in January by Judge Megan Marshall prohibiting anyone involved with the case from speaking about it.
The grand jury in Monroe County is only permitted to focus on potential crimes within that jurisdiction, and the nature of the crime the jury is investigating was unclear, CNN reported. Grand jurors are in general sworn to secrecy, and the documents surrounding them are typically sealed.