US university killings suspect stays silent at arraignment

A young man accused of killing four university students in a stabbing rampage that shocked America declined to speak as he was arraigned Monday, leaving the judge to enter a plea of not guilty.

Bryan Kohberger, 28, went before a judge in the small Idaho town of Moscow, where the killings took place in November in an attack that drew multiple theories from internet sleuths as to who did it.

At the time Kohberger was studying for a doctorate degree in criminology at Washington State University, which is just miles away from Moscow.

The charges against Kohberger are that he drove to Moscow, entered a house where students were living and in the middle of the night killed four people aged 20 and 21 by stabbing them.

The investigation was followed closely in the news and on social media and appeared to be going nowhere, with police releasing few details.

Then, on December 30, Kohberger was arrested far away at his parents' house on the other side of the country, in Pennsylvania, after DNA found on a knife sheath was traced to him.

His lawyers at first said they would try to have evidence against him thrown out so the probe would be dropped. But a grand jury indicted him on four counts of first-degree murder and one of burglary.

Kohberger wore an orange prison uniform as Judge John Judge read out the charges and asked the defendant how he pleaded. His lawyers said Kohberger preferred to remain silent.

"Because Mr. Kohberger is standing silent, I'm going to enter a not guilty plea on each charge," the judge said.

Idaho has the death penalty and the judge said prosecutors now have 60 days to say whether they will seek that punishment for Kohberger if he is found guilty.

The judge set October 2 as the target date for the start of the trial but this could be delayed. He estimated the trial will take six weeks.

© Agence France-Presse