By USA Daily Now 
A judge ruled on Thursday that prosecutors may pursue the death penalty against BRYAN KOHBERGER if he is convicted of the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. The decision by Judge STEVEN HIPPLER came after Kohberger’s defense team requested the court to exclude capital punishment, citing his autism diagnosis as a mitigating factor.
Prosecutors had previously indicated in court filings their intent to seek the death penalty upon a conviction. Kohberger’s attorneys argued that his autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diminishes his culpability and undermines the retributive and deterrent objectives of capital punishment. They also contended that executing him would constitute cruel and unusual punishment, which is prohibited under the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Judge Hippler, however, rejected these arguments, stating that Kohberger’s legal team failed to demonstrate that ASD equates to an intellectual disability, a condition that could exempt him from the death penalty. He noted that there is no national consensus against imposing capital punishment on individuals with ASD. While ASD may be a mitigating factor in sentencing, it does not disqualify Kohberger from facing the death penalty, the judge ruled.
BRYAN KOHBERGER, 30, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of MADISON MOGEN, 21; KAYLEE GONCALVES, 21; XANA KERNODLE, 20; and ETHAN CHAPIN, 20. The victims were fatally stabbed in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022.
Authorities have highlighted suspicious behavior by Kohberger, including turning off his phone before driving home and changing his license plates shortly after the killings. A key piece of evidence in the case is Kohberger’s DNA, reportedly found on a Ka-Bar knife sheath discovered under Mogen’s body.
Kohberger, a former criminology Ph.D. student, is also facing a felony burglary charge. He entered a not-guilty plea in May 2023, and his trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 11.
[Associated Press](https://apnews.com) and [Fox News Digital](https://www.foxnews.com) contributed to this report.