Bryan Kohberger’s Lawyers May Cite Autism In Effort To Avoid Death Penalty In Idaho Murders Case

Bryan Kohberger, 30, is eligible for the death penalty in the event an Idaho jury finds him guilty of the brutal slaying of four University of Idaho undergrads in 2022. However, according to a summary of court documents filed in the case, Kohberger's attorneys may point to autism in an effort to avoid the death penalty.

"The accused quadruple-murderer’s defense filed a motion this week titled ‘to Strike Death Penalty RE: Autism Spectrum Disorder,’" the New York Post reported Thursday.

"Kohberger’s lawyers also filed a motion to redact or seal the newly filed records ‘in Support of their Motion to Strike Death Penalty RE: Autism Spectrum Disorder Under Seal,’ keeping the full argument out of the public eye," the report adds.

It’s not immediately clear whether Kohberger has been diagnosed with autism or if his defense team is seeking a diagnosis.

MOSCOW, IDAHO - JUNE 27: Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for a hearing at the Latah County Courthouse on June 27, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022. (Photo by August Frank-Pool/Getty Images)

According to the arrest affidavit, police recovered a knife sheath left behind at the scene containing Kohberger's DNA. The sheath was made for a rare Ka-Bar knife that police believed was used to stab the four roommates.

A subsequent report from "Dateline" revealed that Kohberger purchased a Ka-Bar knife and sheath from Amazon seven months before the murders.

Kohberger's phone location contributed to his arrest, per the affidavit. Authorities documented that while Kohberger's phone was shut off during the time of the stabbings, cellphone pings showed his phone in the area of the King Road home "at least 12 times" before the morning of the murders.

While there were four victims, journalist Howard Blum published a book last year suggesting Kohberger had targeted only Madison Mogen, 21, but killed the other three victims when his plan went astray.

"I think Maddie was his target," Blum told ABC News – noting the suspect supposedly bypassed two other bedroom doors and made a beeline for Mogen’s room when he entered the house.

"If he was just on a killing spree, it would have been natural, instinctive, to go to one of those doors," Blum explains. "Instead he goes up this narrow staircase, and he turns directly into Maddie’s room."

Blum also reported that Kohberger's family was "Suspicious" of his possible involvement before the arrest. 

"[His father] has been reading the headlines – he knows that four students were killed 12 miles from his son’s house. He knows what a troubled son he has," Blum said.

Two surviving roommates, Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen, discovered the bloody scene hours after the murders, which took place around 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022.

Kohberger was pursuing a doctorate in criminology in nearby Pullman at the time of the Moscow, Idaho, murders.