The public defender assigned to accused Idaho killer Bryan Kohberger previously represented two of the victims’ parents, according to a new report.
Court records show Kootenai County, Idaho, public defender Anne Taylor has previously represented the father and stepmom of victim Madison Mogen, Inside Edition reported.
The revelation comes after it was widely reported Taylor also represented the mother of victim Xana Kernodle — before stepping down when Kohberger became her client.
University of Idaho students Mogen, 21, and Kernodle, 20, were fatally stabbed in their off campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, along with Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, and roommate Kaylee Goncalves, 21.
Kohberger was arrested for the quadruple slaying on Dec. 30; Taylor is his court-appointed lawyer.
Taylor also served as a lawyer for Benjamin Mogen, Madison’s father, in September 2020, when he faced two misdemeanor drug charges, Inside Edition reported. He pled guilty to one of his two counts, and was sentenced to 90 days in prison, court records reviewed by the outlet showed.
The chief public defender in the county had also been working with Mogen’s stepmom Korie Hatrock in 2022 after she was charged with one misdemeanor drug charge and two felony drug charges, Inside Edition reported.
Kernodle’s mother Cara Northington, who was working with Taylor regarding her own drug cases, said she felt “heartbroken” after learning the public defender was now representing her daughter’s alleged killer.
Taylor withdrew her services from Northington on Jan. 5, and she was assigned a new lawyer.
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“I am heartbroken because I trusted her,” Northington told NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield in an interview. “I can’t even convey how betrayed I feel.”
Northington was arrested and charged with drug possession just six days before her daughter was killed.
