In a recent development in the Bryan Kohberger case, Ada County Judge Steven Hippler has ordered the release of a redacted transcript from a closed-door hearing held on January 23rd. This hearing, initially closed to the public and media, focused on forensic investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) evidence that Kohberger's defense team is seeking to suppress. The judge has instructed court officials to provide unredacted copies of the transcript to both the prosecution and defense, granting them 14 days to propose redactions before public release.

During subsequent public proceedings, Kohberger's attorneys argued that the FBI's use of IGG violated his Fourth Amendment rights, claiming an unreasonable search and seizure. Judge Hippler challenged this assertion, questioning the expectation of privacy for DNA left at a crime scene and whether Kohberger had standing to contest the investigative method used, as it involved ancestral DNA rather than his own.

The defense further argued that the FBI's comparison of IGG samples against a database contradicted their internal policy. Prosecutors countered that public records and crime scene evidence carry no expectation of privacy, with Idaho Deputy Attorney General Jeff Nye stating that the FBI's interim policy does not restrict lawful investigative procedures.

The unredacted transcript is expected to shed light on how investigators built their case following the murders and tracked Kohberger to his Pennsylvania residence. Boise attorney Edwina Elcox, who is closely monitoring the case, anticipates the transcript will contain significant information that the state has been withholding from the defense and the public.

Kohberger is accused of the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin in November 2022. He was a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University at the time of the killings. A trial is scheduled for later this year, and Kohberger faces the death penalty if convicted. The defense is also awaiting the judge's decision regarding a Franks hearing, aiming to invalidate warrants in the case, although such hearings are rarely granted and even less frequently successful.