Murder In Moscow: Scott Peterson's Former Lawyer And His Take On The Kohberger Case

Lara Yeretsian, a former member of Scott Peterson’s defense team, argued shortly after Bryan Kohberger’s arrest that the evidence publicly outlined against him was far from airtight and that his attorneys would have opportunities to challenge virtually every major component of the state’s case. She focused first on surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen’s description of seeing a masked man dressed in black leaving the house, noting that Mortensen had described characteristics such as height, build and “bushy eyebrows” but had not actually identified Kohberger as the person she saw. Yeretsian emphasized that this was circumstantial evidence and said the defense would be expected to attack each piece individually rather than accept the prosecution’s narrative as a complete picture.Yeretsian was particularly skeptical of the DNA and cellphone evidence. She argued that DNA found on the knife sheath could potentially be challenged on issues such as transfer, contamination, when the DNA had been deposited, or the reliability of the testing, and she expected the defense to employ its own experts to scrutinize those questions. She was even more dismissive of the cellphone records showing that Kohberger’s phone had connected to towers serving the area near the victims’ home on at least 12 prior occasions, arguing that tower coverage was broad and could not establish that he had actually been at the King Road residence. Her broader point was not that Kohberger had been proven innocent, but that the probable-cause affidavit contained largely circumstantial evidence that competent defense attorneys could attempt to weaken piece by piece, particularly if prosecutors tried to make individual data points appear more precise or conclusive than they actually were.to contact me:[email protected]