Bryan Kohberger seeks to withdraw guilty plea in Idaho 4 killings

Just over one year ago, Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the 2022 slaying of four Idaho University students: Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. Kohberger had been apprehended at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania in December 2022 after a weekslong manhunt following the killings. The horrific quadruple murder drew widespread attention and the public eagerly consumed what few details investigators divulged. Court records detailed both physical and circumstantial evidence tying Kohberger to the case, including:

A knife sheath found under one of the victims’ bodies containing DNA that was later matched to Kohberger.
Home surveillance footage of a Hyundai Elantra matching the description of Kohberger’s vehicle.
Records of Kohberger’s cell phone pinging near the home where the students were murdered. The phone was switched off during the time of the murders.

What never emerged was any sort of motivation for the crime, nor any connection between Kohberger and any of the victims.

At the time of the murders, Kohberger was a Ph.D student in Criminology at Washington State University. The campus was about eight miles from the students’ home in Moscow, Idaho.

When Kohberger pleaded guilty to the slayings, he was awaiting trial (which was due to begin in 40 days) and facing the death penalty. In exchange for his plea, he instead received four consecutive life sentences. Kohberger admitted in court to breaking into the home and killing the four students. He offered no further information, nor did he express any remorse.

Kohberger’s NYT interview

Kohberger has now filed a petition seeking post-conviction relief. In the petition, Kohberger claims ineffective assistance of counsel and also implies that he was coerced and deceived into pleading guilty. It seems Kohberger filed this petition on his own but has requested that an attorney be appointed to assist him further. He also now proclaims his innocence, which he reiterated in a jailhouse phone interview with the New York Times.

In his statements and interview with the Times, Kohberger alluded to questions about some hair evidence from the crime scene that a former defense expert claims wasn’t properly examined. Kohberger’s former court appointed lead attorney has repudiated this claim.

When asked, Kohberger said he understood that if a new trial were granted, he would again be facing the death penalty. However, he claims that his attorneys misled him about what his conditions would be like in prison and that this was what led him to plead guilty.

Legal experts who have weighed in say it is very unlikely that Kohberger’s petition would be successful and that his conviction will probably stand. However, the family members of at least some of the victims say that while they recognize the process will be painful, they would be pleased that Kohberger would again be eligible for the death penalty if he does indeed go to trial.