Legal Teams in State of Idaho v. Bryan C. Kohberger
MOSCOW, Idaho – Kootenai County Public Defender Anne Taylor, once again next to her client during Monday's hearings.
She's been Bryan Kohberger’s court-appointed counsel since his arrest in late December and is known as the top public defender in Kootenai County.
Elisa Massoth, of Payette, Idaho, now joins her.
On March 2, 2023, Taylor filed a motion to appoint a co-counsel, and Massoth is also qualified to try death penalty cases.
According to her website, Massoth was involved in two cases that ultimately resulted in exonerations.
John Wurdemann was convicted of attempted murder in 2002.
Massoth was his new attorney at a 2015 post-conviction hearing.
In 2018, he was exonerated due to his prior counsel's mishandling of a police line-up, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
Michael Scott Molen was convicted of child sex abuse in 2007.
He then petitioned for post-conviction relief and retained Massoth as his new defense.
By the summer of 2014, the conviction was vacated, and the case was dismissed, also according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
Massoth joined Monday's arraignment via Zoom.
Longtime Lead Prosecutor Bill Thompson heads the prosecution.
He was elected Latah Co. Prosecutor in 1992 after 12 years in private practice and has remained in office since.
In 2016, Thompson tried and convicted mass shooter John Lee, who killed three people in Moscow in 2015.
Thompson graduated from the University of Idaho's College of Law in 1980
On April 24, 2023, Thompson filed a motion requesting assistance from the Idaho Attorney General's Office.
Two Deputy Attorney Generals have been appointed: Chief of the Criminal Division Jeff Nye and Lead Deputy Attorney General Ingrid Batey.
The trial has been scheduled to start on October 2 and is expected to last about six weeks.
