Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of stabbing four Idaho college students to death, stood silently in court on Wednesday as a judge read his murder and burglary accusations and asked if he was ready to plead.
“Your honor, we are standing silent,” Kohberger’s counsel said.
An Idaho criminal regulation allows the defendant to "stand mute" by having a judge submit a not guilty plea on his behalf.
“It doesn’t matter what he says or doesn’t say,” Seattle attorney Anne Bremner told CNN. “He pleaded not guilty.”
Silence is rare yet possible. Nikolas Cruz, the Parkland school shooter, was tried using the same method.
Kohberger faces four charges of first-degree murder and one of burglary for the November 13 murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, at an off-campus Moscow, Idaho house.
Investigators said Kohberger, a graduate student at Washington State University's Department of Criminology, broke into the victims' residence and stabbed them repeatedly before leaving.
After his arraignment, Bryan Kohberger is led out. Zach Wilkinson/Reuters The terrible murders and lengthy investigation shook the college campus and community. After seven weeks, Kohberger was arrested for murder.
According to University of Idaho law professor Samuel Newton, defendants may "stand silent" in high-profile cases like Kohberger's.
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