LATAH COUNTY, Idaho — In the most recent court proceedings in the Bryan Kohberger case, Latah County District Judge John Judge has ordered the state to turn over a portion of investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) material to the defense. However, because the records are sealed, no one but the two legal teams will know what has been released.
After hearing arguments over the material in the fall, Judge ordered prosecutors to provide him all IGG information from the FBI and a private laboratory related to their investigation. Judge issued in Thursday's Jan. 11 order after reviewing all of the information the state provided.
"The Court has now completed its review of the information provided by the State and orders the State to discover to the defense [a] portion of the IGG information," the judge stated in his order from Thursday. "The specific material to be provided is set forth in sealed order to protect the privacy of the IGG information, including individuals on the family tree."
Kohbereger's defense team previously said that it needs the records to determine how investigators did the IGG testing.
Investigative genetic genealogy combines the fields of forensic genetics with genetic and conventional genealogy.
Kohberger's defense has argued it needs the material to know “how the IGG profile was created and how many other people the FBI chose to ignore during their investigation.” Prosecutors, however, expressed concerns about the possible public release of identities of family members from those materials, asking for protective orders.
In an Oct. 25 order, the judge ruled the defense team showed at least some of that material is essential to building a case.
In that order, the judge cited prosecution filings about how the FBI used investigative genetic genealogy to "find a lead" into who left DNA on a knife sheath at the crime scene.
The FBI uploaded that DNA profile onto public genetic databases, according to the filing, then built a family tree of related people. The order shows the FBI also used social media, birth and death certificates, and other public info to build the family tree of people related to the unknown suspect profile.
“The IGG process pointed law enforcement toward defendant, but it did not provide law enforcement with substantive evidence of guilt," the filing said.
Prosecutors have argued the FBI didn't directly compare the knife sheath DNA profile to Kohberger's DNA once he was identified as a suspect, and that the IGG will not be used at trial.
During a lengthy Aug. 18 hearing, several genetic genealogy experts testified for the defense as to why this information may be pertinent to the case. Defense attorney Stephen Mercer, one such witness, said the defense must know how the tests were done, if the database searches complied with guidelines, and what decisions genetic researchers may have made during the investigation.
Kohberger has been charged in the murders of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves in their off-campus residence, referred to as the "King Road house," on Nov. 13, 2022.
A trial date has not been set. A pre-trial date is set for Jan. 26.
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