A forensic expert who once worked for Bryan Kohberger's defense team is now publicly calling for the death penalty, claiming investigators failed to collect critical evidence that could have revealed the full scope of what happened inside the King Road residence where four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death in November 2022.
Joseph Scott Morgan, a forensic expert and professor at Jacksonville State University, told Fox News in an interview published this week that his review of the crime scene left him convinced that key forensic opportunities were squandered and that Kohberger deserves the harshest punishment available under Idaho law.
Morgan's reversal carries unusual weight. He was retained by Kohberger's original defense team and had access to case materials before parting ways with the defense. Now he is speaking publicly against the man he once helped prepare to fight the charges.
Morgan told Fox News that investigators failed to collect all available DNA evidence at the crime scene. He pointed specifically to what he described as bloody handprints and other biological evidence that, in his view, should have been swabbed, photographed in higher detail, and processed through forensic databases.
He said the scene contained more usable forensic material than law enforcement ultimately gathered, and he expressed frustration that some of it may now be lost or degraded beyond recovery. Morgan characterized the lapses as significant enough to affect the public's understanding of the crime.
Morgan also raised concerns about the handling of the victims' bodies during recovery and autopsy, suggesting that certain wound patterns and trace evidence deserved closer documentation. Unsealed autopsy reports previously revealed the victims suffered extensive pain before death, a detail that has shaped public reaction to the case and the push for severe sentencing.
Morgan did not hedge his position. He told Fox News that Kohberger should face the death penalty, citing the brutality of the killings and what he described as clear evidence of premeditation. He said the nature of the wounds and the pattern of movement through the house pointed to a deliberate, methodical attack on defenseless victims.
"This was not a crime of passion. This was planned, and it was executed with precision."
Morgan's public stance puts him in rare company. Former defense-side experts almost never reverse course so dramatically, and doing so in a case of this magnitude invites scrutiny from both the legal community and the public. His willingness to call for the ultimate penalty after reviewing the evidence from the defense's vantage point adds a layer of credibility that outside commentators typically lack.
The four victims, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, were killed in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022. Two other roommates in the house survived and were not harmed. Kohberger, then a Ph.D. student in criminology at nearby Washington State University, was arrested weeks later in Pennsylvania.
Kohberger pleaded guilty in late 2024 to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. The plea came after months of pretrial litigation and an investigation that cost Idaho taxpayers millions of dollars.
But the case did not end there. Kohberger subsequently moved to withdraw his guilty plea, a step that threw the proceedings into fresh uncertainty. He claimed his family participated in plea negotiations and suggested the plea was not entered voluntarily. That motion is pending before the court.
The withdrawal attempt followed a change in legal representation. Kohberger obtained a new lawyer after the case tab topped $8 million, and he filed a handwritten plea asking the court to undo his earlier admission of guilt. The procedural whiplash has drawn sharp criticism from the victims' families, who have waited years for resolution.
Morgan told Fox News he reviewed crime scene photographs, forensic reports, and other materials provided to him during his work with the defense. He said he was troubled by what he saw and ultimately could not continue in a role that supported Kohberger's case.
He did not disclose the specific terms under which he left the defense team or whether any confidentiality agreements limit what he can share. Defense experts who break with their retaining attorneys face potential professional consequences, and Morgan's public comments suggest he views the stakes as high enough to accept that risk.
Morgan has worked as a forensic investigator and death investigator for decades. He has been involved in hundreds of cases and has taught forensic science at the university level. His commentary on the Kohberger case has appeared in multiple media outlets since the arrest.
The missed evidence Morgan described raises questions about the Moscow Police Department's handling of the crime scene. The department, which serves a small college town, faced an investigation of extraordinary complexity from the first hours after the bodies were discovered.
Federal agencies, including the FBI, assisted with the investigation. Kohberger's mother told FBI agents during an interview that her son was "my angel" and insisted police had made a "really, really bad mistake" in arresting him. That interview, which became public through court filings, offered a window into the family's posture before the guilty plea.
Morgan's claims about uncollected evidence do not necessarily mean the prosecution's case was weak. Kohberger's DNA was found on a knife sheath left at the scene, and cell phone and vehicle data placed him near the residence at the time of the killings. Those facts formed the backbone of the state's case and ultimately contributed to the guilty plea.
But Morgan argued that the uncollected evidence could have answered lingering questions about the sequence of events inside the house, the duration of the attack, and whether any additional forensic profiles existed at the scene. Those questions matter most in the sentencing phase, where prosecutors must persuade a judge or jury that death is the appropriate punishment.
Idaho law allows the death penalty for first-degree murder when aggravating factors are present. Prosecutors in Latah County have indicated they intend to seek death, though the withdrawal motion has complicated the timeline.
If the court denies Kohberger's motion to withdraw his plea, the case would proceed to sentencing. If the court grants the motion, the case could return to trial posture, restarting a process that has already consumed years and millions in public funds.
The case has also been marked by concerns about evidence security. An Idaho judge launched a criminal investigation into leaked case evidence, a development that underscored the extraordinary public interest and the pressure on all parties to maintain the integrity of the proceedings.
Morgan told Fox News he believes the sentencing phase should include a full accounting of the forensic evidence that was and was not collected. He said jurors or a judge weighing the death penalty deserve to know whether investigative shortcomings left gaps in the record.
The court has not yet ruled on Kohberger's motion to withdraw his guilty plea. A hearing date has not been publicly confirmed. The victims' families have continued to press for finality, and prosecutors have opposed the withdrawal motion in filings.
Morgan's public break with the defense adds a new voice to a case that has generated intense national attention since the night of the killings. His forensic credentials and his firsthand access to defense materials give his claims a weight that casual commentary does not carry.
Whether his allegations about missed evidence change the trajectory of the case remains to be seen. The court will decide the procedural questions. The forensic record, complete or not, will shape whatever comes after.
Four students went to sleep in their own home and never woke up. The system owes them, and their families, something better than shortcuts and loose ends.
