Bryan Kohberger preliminary hearing to begin June 26
MOSCOW, IDAHO (CBS/AP) -- The Pennsylvania man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students was briefly back in an Idaho courtroom on Thursday.
Bryan Kohberger, the 28-year-old Washington State University graduate student charged in the case, has yet to enter a plea and is waiting to learn whether prosecutors in the high-profile case will pursue the death penalty.
He is being represented by a public defender and waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing Thursday morning. No bail was set by the judge.
This gives him more time to enter a plea for the charges against him and return to court for a preliminary hearing that is scheduled to begin on June 26.
Kohberger is accused of four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernolde and Ethan Chapin on Nov. 13.
Investigators allegedly used forensic analysis as well as a witness testimony to link Kohberger to the crime scene.
Few details were released about the investigation into the murders until after Kohberger was arrested at his family's home in Pennsylvania in late December — more than a month after the Nov. 13 murders. An affidavit detailing how police tracked down the suspect was unsealed after he was extradited to Idaho.
A judge said the details could "prematurely" end the investigation and "create a threat to public safety."
A neighbor of Kohberger's in Pullman, Wash. said the suspect spoke to him about the killings days after they occurred. The neighbor asked not to be identified.
"He brought it up in conversation," the neighbor exclusively told CBS News on Wednesday. "[He] asked if I had heard about the murders, which I did. And then he said, 'Yeah, seems like they have no leads. Seems like it was a crime of passion.'"
"At the time of our conversation, it was only a few days after it happened so there wasn't much details out," the neighbor added.
University of Idaho students are returning to class for the first time since Kohberger's arrest. Many, like Madeline Paulik, are expressing relief.
"I was kind of glad to see a lot of cops around, just in case something did happen, they would be there," she said. "But it just feels very relieving knowing he's behind bars."
