Hippler was appointed to oversee the trial, replacing Judge John Judge, when the trial moved from Latah County to Boise after the defense successfully argued that he would not have an impartial jury in the tight-knit community of Moscow because of the extensive media coverage potentially tainting the jury pool.

Bryan Kohberger is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.

Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger, the Monroe County man charged with the murders of four University of Idaho students, are asking a judge to throw out most of the evidence in the case.