The man accused of stabbing four Idaho college students to death in 2022 has added a DNA forensics expert to his defense team, offering a potential glimpse into his overall strategy in his upcoming trial.
San Francisco attorney Bicka Barlow has been added to Bryan Kohberger's defense team, Fox News reported. Barlow had previously provided expert testimony for Kohberger at a hearing in 2023.
The addition suggests that the defense team plans to challenge DNA evidence prosecutors, say, link Kohberger to the crime scene. The crucial evidence was recovered on a knife sheath left at the scene and then linked to Kohberger through investigative genetic genealogy (IGG). Essentially, law enforcement uses publicly available databases to find a link to a suspect's DNA, such as a family member. This can, sometimes, allow them to essentially create a family tree that leads to a person who matches the suspect DNA.
According to her website, Barlow received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California in Genetics and a Master of Science degree from Cornell University in Genetics and Developmental Biology. She has a law degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law and worked as a research attorney for the Criminal Division of the San Francisco Superior Court before opening her private practice.
Prosecutors have alleged that Kohberger murdered University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20 in November 2022. Kohberger was a graduate student at nearby Washington State University at the time of the slayings.
DNA helped lead investigators to Kohberger and identify him as a suspect. In fact, police detective Brett Payne, the lead investigator in the Kohberger case, testified at a now unsealed hearing that Kohberger's name had not been known to him until to Dec. 19. It was then that the FBI offered a tip the genetic genealogy investigation, Fox News reported.
Originally published on Latin Times
