Bryan Kohberger, convicted last year for the killing of four University of Idaho students, is looking to revoke his guilty plea and obtain a new trial, The New York Times reported.
BREAKING: Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted of murdering 4 students at the University of Idaho in their college home, is fighting to undo his guilty plea.
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) July 27, 2026
Kohberger claims false promises and faulty information forced his admission, insisting he is innocent. pic.twitter.com/BYXe98mLYc
Kohberger, who was sentenced to life without parole, gave a statement from an Idaho prison to The NYT. "My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn,” Kohberger said. He reasserted an “absolute claim of innocence.”
In July 2025, Kohberger pled guilty to murdering 21-year-olds Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, and 20-year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in their off-campus rental home in November 2022. During pretrial proceedings, evidence mounted against Kohberger. Law enforcement showed that his DNA was found on the murder knife's sheath, the same knife that Kohberger had purchased on Amazon months prior. His car also matched the car that was seen circling the crime scene on surveillance tapes. No motive or relationship to the students was ever uncovered during the trial, however, and prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty in exchange for the guilty plea with a waived right to appeal.
Kohberger declined to discuss the evidence against him, but said the matter would be addressed "appropriately in a trial setting." Kohberger also told The NYT that he arranged the documents to challenge the case by himself, with many of his defense lawyers saying he had always taken issue with the plea deal and the evidence. "Unanswered questions seem to multiply with each piece of discovery unsealed," Kohberger said in his statement.
Recommended
Steve Goncalves, the father of slain Kaylee Goncalves, declined to comment on the recent development, saying he needed to discuss the matter with his family.
After more than a month with no suspect, PA state police and the FBI arrested Kohberger during a morning raid of his parents' home near the Poconos in Pennsylvania. He was a graduate student and teaching assistant in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University at the time of his arrest. Former professors and classmates said Kohberger was "obsessed" with serial killers, criminal behavior, and the psychology of antisocial behavior during his classes.
According to legal experts, convicted individuals typically have up to one year from the judgment date to challenge a conviction due to severe constitutional defects or ineffective counsel. It is not clear yet whether he will be granted a new trial.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member