The lawyer who represented Johnny Depp in his trial against Amber Heard has shared her thoughts on the killing of four students from Idaho in her first day as an on-air legal analyst.
Camille Vasquez became the subject of headlines, tweets and conversations as she represented Depp last year and secured him $15 million in damages after he accused her of defamation.
The lawyer, a partner at Brown Rudnick, was celebrated by many for her work during the trial and in the aftermath she was approached by NBC News about joining them as an analyst. See her first report below:
Vasquez made her first appearance on the Today show this week, and quickly got stuck into the discussion of the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle.
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All four students were found dead in off-campus accommodation on 13 November in what law enforcement has described as the 'worst crime scene' they have ever seen.
Police have since arrested 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger in relation to the case.
When asked to 'size up' the case, Vasquez told hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie she believes the case against Kohberger is 'extremely strong', but stressed police and investigators are 'not in the business of telling us everything that they have'.
"They want to put enough to get probably cause to get a judge to sign that search warrant," she explained.
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The lawyer noted that the case has gained worldwide attention, so the authorities involved 'do not want to make any mistakes'.
She continued: "They do not want to give the suspect any reason to have the case not go the way they want it to."
The Today hosts also addressed the involvement of internet sleuths; self-proclaimed online detectives which Vasquez believes can both hurt or help a case.
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"This has become something that really captivated the country, this case has,” she said. “And so people want to talk about the evidence, they want to talk about the human impact, and these are college students, right? I think it can be incredibly helpful for investigators, they pleaded to the public and asked for information about the [murder suspect’s] white Elantra, but it could also be harmful, when you start naming someone.”
Kohberger made his first court appearance in Idaho on 5 January, and is next set to appear in a pretrial hearing on 12 January.
He faces four charges of first-degree murder, which carry sentences including life in prison or the death penalty.
Topics: Crime, US News, Johnny Depp
Emily Brown