The parents of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger have reportedly been called to testify in the case of a 45-year-old Pennsylvania woman who disappeared in 2022 and was later found dead in the same county where he lived.
According to the Daily Mail, Michael and Maryann Kohberger are scheduled to appear in front of a grand jury in connection with the May 28, 2022 disappearance of 45-year-old Dana Smithers. Investigators are looking to determine if the Kohbergers’ son was involved in other killings.
The day she went missing, Smithers was last seen in Ring camera footage at around 11 pm and her remains were discovered April 27, 2023 in a wooded area in Stroudsburg approximately 30 miles away from the Kohbergers’ home in Albrightsville.
Maryann has already given her testimony and Michael is expected to testify in court on Thursday.
According to News Nation, a source claimed that Bryan’s alibi proves that he likely wasn’t involved in Smithers’ disappearance.
Bryan has been charged with the November 13, 2022 killings of the University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. His trial is scheduled for October 2.
On Monday, Bryan appeared in an Idaho courtroom where he refused to enter a plea to four counts of murder in the first degree. He was expected to plead not guilty but instead, used Idaho’s ‘standing silent’ plea which means he has not pleaded but can still be tried.
The criminology major and Washington State University PhD candidate has been in jail since December 30 when police raided his parent’s Pennsylvania home. He was transferred to Latah County Jail on January 4 and indicted by an Idaho Grand Jury that heard the evidence in secret and decided to send the case to a full trial.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Kohberger repeatedly visited the area around the students’ home prior to the murders, and his DNA was found on a KA-BAR knife sheath found next to the bodies of Kaylee and Madison.
The affidavit also revealed that Kohberger’s white Hyundai Elantra was caught on camera near the scene of the crime before driving away from the home toward Pullman at approximately 4.20 am.
