Bryan Kohberger Attorney Represented the Mother of Murder Victim Xana Kernodle

The public defender who is representing Bryan Kohberger in his murder trial had previously been assigned a case involving one of his alleged victims' parents.

Court records obtained by Inside Edition Digital show that on January 5, Anne Taylor withdrew as counsel for Cara Kernodle, the mother of Xana Kernodle. 

That very same day, a judge appointed Taylor as Kohberger’s public defender. 

Taylor had been representing Cara for over a month after her arrest on Nov. 19 in Kootenai County just a few days after her daughter’s murder.

She is charged with two felony counts for possession of a controlled substance. She is currently listed on the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office "Active Wanted Persons." 

Cara and her new attorney did not respond to requests for comment from Inside Edition Digital.

There was a brief period of overlap with the two clients, with court records showing Taylor was appointed as Kohberger’s counsel on the morning of January 5 and then filing a substitution of counsel brief in the Kernodle case later that afternoon. 

SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL FILING

Xana Kernodle was one of the four University of Idaho students found murdered in an off-campus house on Nov. 13.

An affidavit submitted by the responding officer alleges that Kernodle was found in her room with boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20. 

Her roommates Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were discovered in Mogen’s room on the third floor, according to the affidavit. 

All four had been stabbed to death according to the Latah County coroner.

Kohberger is currently being held at the Latah County Detention Center without bail awaiting his preliminary hearing, which is set for late June.

Investigators have not revealed a possible motive for the murders, and a sweeping gag order was put in place last week that bars lawyers for the victims’ families from speaking about the case.  

Investigators are also barred from commenting on the case at this time. 

Kohberger will not formally enter a plea until his hearing in June, but the public defender who represented him after his arrest in Pennsylvania says that the Washington State University PhD student expects to be exonerated of these charges at trial. 

Related News