The arraignment of Bryan Kohberger went pretty much as you’d expect — with one odd little wrinkle.
As we told you, the University of Idaho murder suspect was officially indicted by a secret grand jury last week. So on Monday morning the 28-year-old appeared — next to his attorney, public defender Anne Taylor — to answer the charges in court.
The judge read out the name of each victim — Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin — along with each first-degree murder charge. Kohberger reportedly sat quietly. According to The US Sun, he was then asked if he understood the four charges and potential penalties if found guilty, to which he responded simply, “Yes.” It was the only word he would utter.
Related: Bryan Kohberger Is OBSESSED With TV Coverage Of His Murder Case
See, when asked what he pleaded, he didn’t say “guilty” or “not guilty.” Instead, Kohberger took the tactic of remaining silent. His attorney told the court:
“Your honor, we are standing silent.”
When a defendant stands silent, they’re exercising the right to remain silent — so instead of him actually saying the words “not guilty” the judge was forced to enter the not guilty plea for him.
The families of victims and lifelong BFFs Maddie and Kaylee were in attendance to watch as Kohberger said nothing, per Idaho Statesman reporter Angela Palermo.
The biggest new info? We now have a trial date. The murder trial of Bryan Kohberger will begin on October 2 and it expected to last about six weeks. That should put the end date very near to exactly one year to the day after the November 13 murders which shocked a nation. We guess we’ll see soon enough how it all turns out…
[Image via Law&Crime/YouTube/Kaylee Goncalves/Xana Kernodle/Instagram.]
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