Ted Bundy’s lawyer finds ‘intriguing’ parallels in Bryan Kohberger’s Idaho case

A former defense attorney for Ted Bundy has described a “fascinating” parallel between the notorious serial killer’s final act and the charges against University of Idaho student murder suspect Bryan Kohberger – while revealing he was consulted on the latter but chose not to not to interfere.

Bundy escaped prison in Colorado – where the death penalty would soon be declared unconstitutional – only to travel to Florida, commit more murders and end up on death row.

Bundy then torpedoed his own plea deal that would have spared him execution, said his former lawyer John Henry Browne. But he found it eerily similar to the charges against Kohberger, a graduate student at Washington State University. Student accused of driving across state lines into Idaho to commit quadruple murder.

“Here’s a guy driving 10 miles from a state that doesn’t have the death penalty, (from) a state that has active mental health protections to a state that doesn’t have mental health protections and the death penalty is very active,” he told Fox News Digital. “I just find it fascinating to me. I don’t know what to make of this, but I know the facts are the facts.”

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Ted Bundy, charged with the murder of FSU students Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy, who were beaten and strangled at Chi Omega House, is seen in this July 27, 1978 photo at a hearing before being sentenced in court and was sentenced to death. (bedman)

Similar to Bundy’s rampage at Florida State University’s Chi Omega sorority, Kohberger is accused of attacking four college students hours before sunrise and entering through a back door while at least some of the victims were sleeping.

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Browne also told Fox News Digital that prosecutors’ theory of possible motive, while not necessary for prosecution, would be of great interest to jurors.

“As the case became clearer and we were dealing with 30, 40, 50 or more deaths, the motives in Ted’s case became pretty clear – that it was a power struggle, much more than sex,” he said. “And all of the victims in Ted’s case were not sexually abused. A lot of people don’t know that.”

As for Kohberger’s case, prosecutors have revealed little about his possible motive.

Bryan Kohberger arrives at the Monroe County Courthouse in Pennsylvania for his extradition hearing. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)

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“I have no idea what the state’s theory is as to why Kohberger chose these people in this house to kill and leave behind a knife (sheath) with DNA on it,” he said.

Latah County Judge John Judge entered a not guilty plea on Kohberger’s behalf during his May 2023 arraignment.

The 30-year-old is accused of fatally stabbing 21-year-old best friends Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, their roommate Xana Kernodle (20), and their boyfriend Ethan Chapin (also 20) Dec. 13, 2022, in a six-bedroom home, just a few steps away from the university campus.

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What if it had happened on the Washington side of the state line, where Kohberger earned his doctorate? In criminology, the suspect would not face the death penalty and could use an “insanity” defense.

It’s not the first time Kohberger’s arrest has been compared to Bundy’s attack in Florida. Bundy survivors Karen Pryor and Cheryl Thomas spoke to FOX Nation last year about their ordeal.

Bundy sneaked into Chi Omega’s house through the back door around 3 a.m. on January 15, 1978. Inside, he beat the sleeping Margaret Elizabeth Bowman with a club and then strangled her. In the next room he beat, abused and killed Lisa Janet Levy. Before fleeing the scene, he attacked two other young women, Karen Chandler and Kathy Kleiner (now Kathy Kleiner Rubin), who survived.

“He was a coward,” Little Rubin later told Fox News Digital. Bundy had broken his jaw with the club when the headlights of a sorority girl who had returned late shone through the window. He fled. She survived.

Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend Kaylee Goncalves as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and two other roommates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, which she posted the day before the four students were murdered. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

The best defense? Play offense

“If I were his lawyers, I would start playing offense — a lot,” Browne told Fox News Digital. “Because in a case like this, playing nice will get you nowhere.”

Kohberger, who had a master’s degree in criminal justice from DeSales University and was trying to get a doctorate. in criminology from Washington State University, studied under Katherine Ramsland, a leading expert on serial killers who has written articles and books about many of them – including Bundy.

Browne tried to negotiate a deal for Bundy that would have spared him execution – but the serial killer sabotaged it himself and ended up in the electric chair.

Earlier this month, Boise Judge Steven Hippler rejected a dozen requests from Kohberger’s defense team to impose the death penalty. If he is convicted, the death penalty remains on the table.

Bryan Kohberger appears in court in Moscow, Idaho on October 26, 2023. (Kai Eiselein/Pool)

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Browne said the defense should continue to aggressively try to make life as difficult as possible for the prosecution to aggressively attack the case – something Kohberger’s defense team of Anne Taylor, Jay Logsdon and Elisa Massoth has been working on for over a year.

But the defense’s plan of attack may also have scared off the judge. Kohberger’s team filed a motion for a Franks hearing, which is an attempt to quash some of the search warrants in the case. However, Hippler asked them to refile the file with the correct citations after reminding Logsdon that it was not his job to go through the 2,000 pages of attached documents to find out what they were talking about.

Ted Bundy is closely watching jury selection at his trial in Orlando for the murder of 12-year-old Kimberly Leach. (bedman)

“As an example, defendant generally relies on Exhibit D9 to assert that the law enforcement vehicle expert was more comfortable establishing the 2011 to 2013 period for the Elantra,” Hippler wrote. “This evidence consists of over a hundred pages of duplicate emails. The defendant does not specify which email supports his suggestion. The court will not do the lawyer’s job of sifting through the evidence to decide what parts the defendant needs to support his case.”

Browne said such motions are rarely successful — he has tried hundreds of cases and only successfully concluded three — but it can cripple the state’s case if it works.

Another point the defense may want to consider is whether to waive Kohberger’s right to be tried by a jury and leave his fate in the judge’s hands.

The victims of the University of Idaho massacre on November 13, 2022, from left: Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen. (Instagram @xanakernodle / @maddiemogen / @kayleegoncalves)

Even after the venue was changed from Latah County to Boise, the case is so public that a large number of potential jurors may have already made up their minds.

“(There) is always a possibility, but not a very good one, and that is that you could forego the jury and present the case to the judge,” Browne said.

Bundy, who was represented by a different attorney at the time, did so in Utah and received a lenient sentence. Things didn’t work out for Jose Ibarra, Laken Riley’s killer. He was convicted last week and sentenced to life in prison without parole, the harshest sentence available because prosecutors did not seek the death penalty in the case.

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But mathematically speaking, Brown believes that sometimes having a jury can be beneficial to the defendant.

“All you have to do is convince one in 12 that there is a reasonable doubt and then you get a mistrial,” he said. “But then you start all over again.”

Kohberger’s refiled Frank’s motion was due Tuesday but had not yet been released by the court as of this writing.

His trial is expected to begin next year.

Browne is the author of the book “The Devil’s Defender: My Odyssey Through American Criminal Justice from Ted Bundy to the Kandahar Massacre,” about his experiences as a defense attorney representing clients such as Bundy, Army Sgt. Robert Bales and former teenage serial kidnapper known as the “Barefoot Bandit,” Colton Harris-Moore.

Bundy was a former law student. Kohberger studied criminology and serial killers.