Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted in the Idaho college murders, has asked to withdraw his guilty plea and is now seeking a trial, despite previously admitting he killed four University of Idaho students.
Kohberger, who is serving four life sentences, disclosed his decision to file the petition during an interview with the New York Times, telling the newspaper he has an “absolute claim of innocence.”
“My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn,” Kohberger said.
Last July, Kohberger pleaded guilty to the November 2022 murders of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21, along with Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, both 20.
He was later sentenced in August 2025 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
As part of the plea agreement, Kohberger accepted responsibility for the killings in a deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty. But he has never publicly revealed a motive or explained why the four friends were targeted, leaving the victims’ families still searching for answers.
According to the Times, Kohberger declined to discuss details of the evidence he now claims could clear him.
He also reportedly would not elaborate on the concerns he says he has about how the plea process unfolded.
Best friends Mogen and Goncalves, both 21, were sleeping in the same bed in Mogen’s room after a night out. They were both stabbed multiple times
Young couple Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were murdered by Kohberger
Mogen, Kernodle, Goncalves and Chapin were found stabbed to death on November 13, 2022 in a rented off-campus house in the small, rural town of Moscow.
Prosecutors say that Kohberger, who was masked, snuck into the home and brutally murdered the students.
Kohberger, a graduate student in criminology at nearby Washington State University, was arrested in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, roughly six weeks later.
A Q-tip from the garbage at his parents’ house and genetic genealogy were used to match Kohberger’s DNA to material recovered from a knife sheath found at the home, investigators said.
They also used surveillance camera footage to help locate a white sedan that was seen repeatedly driving past the home on the night of the killings.
Cellphone location data also showed that Kohberger had been in the neighborhood multiple times before the attack.
Kohberger’s attorneys got the trial moved to Boise after expressing concerns that the court wouldn’t be able to find enough unbiased jurors in Moscow.
But Judge Stephen Hippler rejected their efforts to get the death penalty taken off the table and to strike critical evidence – including the DNA – from being admitted in trial.
The student home at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, where the murders were committed
No blood or DNA was found in Bryan Kohberger’s white Hyundai Elantra after his arrest
Left to right: Dylan Mortensen, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee’s shoulders) Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Bethany Funke
In exchange for Kohberger admitting guilt and waiving his right to appeal, prosecutors agreed not to seek his execution. Both sides recommended that he serve four consecutive life sentences without parole.
It’s unclear why Kohberger killed the four students and spared two roommates who were home at the time.
Investigators also never found a connection between Kohberger, the four victims or the two surviving roommates.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
