Bryan Kohberger claims he was 'on a drive' at time four university students were killed

After the murder of four Idaho students shocked the US last year, their alleged killer is appearing in court.

Bryan Kohberger has been accused of the horrific crime, but his defence team claims that the criminology grad was on ‘a drive’ at the time of the murders.

His team will now be setting forward their case, with Kohberger due to go on trial this fall.

Currently, he stands accused of killing Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle at their rental home near the University of Idaho campus.

On Wednesday (August 2) though, new court documents revealed that the 28-year-old claims to have been driving alone at the time of the grisly murders.

Filed by his defence team, it’s a major update in the case as Kohberger has not previously given an alibi for his whereabouts on the night of the killings (November 13).

“Mr. Kohberger has long had a habit of going for drives alone. Often he would go for drives at night,” wrote Anne Taylor, who is a public defender.

She added: “He did so late on November 12 and into November 13, 2022.”

According to the New York Post, the update will also allow the defendant’s team to present witnesses when he goes on trial in the fall.

The court documents confirmed this, stating: “Corroboration of Bryan Kohberger NOT being at 1122 King may be brought out through cross-examination of the state’s witnesses… At this time, Mr. Kohberger cannot be more specific about the possible witnesses and exactly what they will say.”

However, the documents also stated that Kohberger is not ‘claiming to be at a specific location at a specific time’.

Whilst his legal team working their way through the evidence and the potential witnesses, the victim’s families are gearing up for the first anniversary of the tragic murders.

Prior to their deaths, the students had been partying and returned to their home near the Moscow Campus in the early hours of the morning around 1:45 am (local time).

Police believed that the murders happened later that night, around 3-4 am, with the killer using what has been described as an ‘edged weapon’.

Just over a month later, Kohberger was arrested and held without bail for the crime.

Local police also claim that his DNA was found to closely match that which had been found on a knife sheath at the crime scene.

They also allege that the graduate’s phone data shows he was close to the victims’ homes multiple times before the murders occurred.

The case is set to be heard later this fall, with prosecutors likely to seek the death penalty in light of the shocking crime.