Bryan Kohberger trial fiasco sparks anger as judge delays until March 2025 - two and a half years after heinous Idaho murders

Idaho officials are under fire as the long-anticipated trial for suspected quadruple murderer Bryan Kohberger was delayed yet again this week.

The criminology lecturer, 29, is accused of shocking the nation in November 2022 when University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were stabbed to death in their off-campus home. 

Now nearing on two years since the grisly murders, the trial is still in its preliminary stages, with another hearing on Wednesday sparking backlash as the judge again declined to set a date. 

This meant Kohberger is not expected to face trial until at least the spring of 2025, leading to calls for officials to bring the ongoing disputes to a conclusion. 

'The victim families are really the sufferers with these delays,' former FBI special agent Jennifer Coffindaffer told DailyMail.com after the hearing. 

 'Unfortunately, it looks like we're still years away from trial.'

Bryan Kohberger, 29, has waived his right to a speedy trial, and after another delay he is not expected to face trial until at least the spring of 2025 

He is accused of shocking the nation in November 2022 when University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin , Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were stabbed to death in their off-campus home

Coffindaffer, who has served as an expert witness on numerous trials, said while the delayed trial is frustrating, it is far worse for the victim's families as the unending hearings are like continually 'picking a scab off the wound.'  

Before the hearing delayed the trial, the family of victim Kaylee Goncalves said they were 'anxious' over the ongoing hearings, but intended to continue to attend every court date. 

'Feeling anxious about tomorrow, but our family will continue to show up for EVERY court date. The Goncalves Family will remain strong and united. We will NEVER give up,' the family said on Facebook. 

Although the family are yet to respond to the latest delay, it comes after several other postponements that have sparked fury, with Kaylee's mother Kristi slamming the 'gut-wrenching' process in November. 

'It's gut-wrenching how slow everything has to go. Why does this have to be so drawn out?' Kaylee's mother said in an interview with KHQ.

'It's important, I get it, but there are facts, we have certain facts, we have certain knowledge. I can't believe that this is how it works.' 

The stricken mother's frustration was echoed by many after this week's failure to set a trial date, as supporters took to social media to slam the process.

'I can’t believe this Kohberger trial isn’t gonna happen till 2025,' said one. 'Those students were murdered in 2022. Our court system needs a revamp.'

'Another Kohberger hearing with little progress,' added true crime podcaster Gisela K. 

'Thinking of Kaylee, Xana, Maddie and Ethan's families as this case so very slowly moves along towards even trying to get a trial date set.'  

The families of the victims have shared their frustration at the unending delays, with the mother of Kaylee Goncalves (left) saying: 'It's gut-wrenching how slow everything has to go. Why does this have to be so drawn out?' 

Boyfriend and girlfriend Ethan Chapin (left) and Xana Kernodle (right) were slain in bed together in the gruesome murders in November 2022 

Former FBI special agent Jennifer Coffindaffer (pictured) told DailyMail.com that the postponements are purposeful 'delay tactics', but the frustration is far worse for the victim's families as the unending hearings are like continually 'picking a scab off the wound' 

'They have to see him, they have to listen to the details, it's more and more painful for (the victims families),' added Coffindaffer. 

The former FBI special agent claimed Kohberger's defense team are purposefully using 'delay tactics' to try and swing any advantage in their favor, including the possibility key witnesses could pass away if it stretches on years. 

'There's all these things that can happen when you delay, delay, delay, in my opinion the defense knows this and they will continue to delay,' she continued. 

Amid the frustration over the year-long process without even a trial date, some were angered to see the Moscow, Idaho home where the murders took place torn down in December.  

Although both prosecution and defense agreed for it to be torn down, the families argued against it, Coffindaffer argued that it should have remained standing until a conviction was found. 

'I will always stand by the fact that that house could have held important information in the cracks and crevices,' she added. 

The families of the victims pleaded for the home to remain standing, with Goncalves' family saying the move would 'destroy one of the most critical pieces of evidence in the case.'

The off-campus home where the four grisly murders took place was torn down in December amid the delays, despite calls from the victims' families to keep it standing 

The families argued that keeping the home standing was pivotal, as Kaylee Goncalves' (right) family said the move would 'destroy one of the most critical pieces of evidence in the case'

Prosecutors had pushed for a trial to be set this summer, but Kohberger's defense attorney Anne Taylor argued that the trial needed to be delayed due to the huge amount of information surrounding it. 

'Not only do we have a huge volume of information, the way I’m getting it is completely disorganized,' Taylor said in court. 

'And it’s like if you wanted to play 52-card pickup with 100,000 decks of cards and throw them in the air, and I have to go figure out how to put them together.' 

At Wednesday's trial scheduling hearing, one of the primary sticking points was the issue of Kohberger's alibi on the night of the slayings. 

Kohberger has claimed he was out driving alone at the time, but has refused to elaborate further as frustration builds over delays. 

In response, Judge John Judge set a deadline of April 17 for his alibi to be established in court. 

Ms Coffindaffer argued that the lack of any concrete alibi is another 'delay tactic' by Kohberger's team.

'I know Judge Judge will likely be lenient to a degree too, because this is a death penalty case,' she added. 

'He doesn't want to be overturned in his rulings, and there are over 50 terabytes of information in the case, so the defense has all of that working on their side.'  

Questions have been raised over the lax courtroom security around Kohberger, which has been compared to Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen (right), who has been shackled at every turn

While not causing any delays, Kohberger's hearings have also come under scrutiny for the seemingly lax security around the murder suspect, as he continues to enter court in a full suit without handcuffs. 

'It just really lacks proper security,' Ms Coffindaffer argued. 

'He's in a suit and tie, his hair is trimmed, his eyebrows are trimmed, there's no security around him.' 

She claimed the lack of precautions is peculiar, especially when compared to others accused of similar crimes - such as the Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen being escorted by SWAT teams in full shackles to his hearings.