A forensic scientist previously retained by Bryan Kohberger's defense team has raised questions about hair evidence recovered from the crime scene where four University of Idaho students were killed in November 2022.
Kohberger pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the murders of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves, receiving four consecutive life sentences without parole.
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He later filed a petition for post-conviction relief, claiming his legal team coerced him and withheld exculpatory evidence.
Hair Evidence Under Scrutiny
The petition references light and dark brown hair strands found under where Chapin's right hand was photographed on Kernodle's bed frame.
Forensic scientist Brent Turvey, who examined the evidence before sentencing, stated the strands were not Kohberger's.
Turvey told Fox News Digital that the FBI lab excluded Kohberger as the source.
He argued the court must thoroughly investigate Kohberger's claims of ineffective counsel and coercion against his former lead attorney, Anne Taylor.
Turvey stressed that the formal filings require official judicial review, noting that the accusations warrant direct responses from the former defense team.
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Opposing Views on Evidence
Shanon Gray, attorney for victim Kaylee Goncalves's family, disputed that the hair evidence exonerates Kohberger.
He noted the defense had the material before the plea and that it does not disprove Kohberger's presence at the scene.
Gray emphasized that the hair strands only suggest another person could have been present, not that Kohberger was absent.
Separately, a documentary explored potential motives, with former FBI Special Agent Ed Jacobson discussing Kohberger's criminology background and reported behavioral issues as a teaching assistant.
Jacobson noted no evidence linked Kohberger to organized extremist groups.
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Kohberger remains incarcerated while the Idaho 4th Judicial District Court considers his petition.
