BOISE, Idaho — The county prosecution in the University of Idaho student homicides has added two state attorneys to its legal team in pursuit of four first-degree murder charges against defendant Bryan Kohberger, a case that qualifies for the death penalty should they seek it.
Idaho deputy attorney general Jeff Nye and deputy attorney general Ingrid Batey, each from the office’s criminal law division, were appointed Monday at the request of Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson. Second Judicial District Judge John Judge, who is poised to oversee a possible trial in the Kohberger case, accepted Thompson’s petition for legal help.
“I seek assistance in this case in order to utilize the expertise and additional resources of the Office of the Attorney General,” Thompson wrote in a Monday court filing. “The attorney general’s office has agreed, in writing, to assist the Latah County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in this matter.”
Like Thompson, a 1980 graduate of the University of Idaho’s law school, each of the state deputy attorneys general joining the case has ties to the university. Batey is a 2016 graduate of the university’s law school, while Nye has worked as an adjunct professor at the university’s law program since 2021, according to their LinkedIn profiles.
Thompson and his staff remain the lead on the case with the attorney general’s office in a support role, office spokesperson Beth Cahill told The Idaho Statesman.
“Bill Thompson and his team of prosecutors are doing an amazing job, and we stand ready to help them in any way we can,” Cahill said in a statement.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador named Nye as his chief of the criminal division in January. He has been with the office for more than five years, including two years as its previous lead special prosecutor, his LinkedIn profile showed. He is a graduate of Georgetown University’s law school.
“Jeff has extensive experience putting criminals behind bars, and he’s the right man to help me transform this division into Idaho’s premier prosecution office,” Labrador said in a January statement.
Batey joined the attorney general’s office last year after more than five years as a deputy prosecutor in Canyon County, her LinkedIn profile showed. She joined the criminal division of the attorney general’s office in December, according to the Idaho Press.
In March, Kohberger’s public defender, Anne Taylor, who is chief of the Kootenai County Public Defender’s Office, received court approval to add another death penalty-qualified attorney to her team. Jay Logsdon, chief deputy of litigation with Taylor’s office, formally joined Kohberger’s defense.
Kohberger’s preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin June 26 at the Latah County Courthouse.
