Bryan Kohberger’s family has thrown its support behind his effort to challenge the conviction stemming from the murders of four University of Idaho students.
“Our full support of Bryan’s decision to pursue post-conviction relief does not come from a place of disregard,” the Kohberger family told ABC News.
“Rather, it comes from our family’s need to see that the complete and unvarnished truth is told. Like everyone, we seek answers to all the questions that have been raised, which can only be addressed through a proper trial, as opposed to an improper plea.”
Kohberger, 31, is scheduled to return to court next June after filing a petition for post-conviction relief in Ada County District Court in July. He claims he agreed to the plea deal only after his attorneys “advised [him] to lie.”
“My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn,” Kohberger said in a statement to The New York Times in August.
He has also asked for a different judge to handle the proceedings, alleging that Judge Steven Hippler displayed bias during his sentencing.
In addition, Kohberger is seeking to move the case back to Latah County, where the fatal attacks occurred.
His relatives said they hoped their public support for him would not add to “the unimaginable grief the families have borne so courageously.”
Bryan Kohberger’s family says it supports his attempt to withdraw his guilty plea in the killings of four University of Idaho students
He pleaded guilty to killing Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle at an off-campus apartment in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022
“Our full support of Bryan’s decision to pursue post-conviction relief does not come from a place of disregard,” the Kohberger family told ABC News (Kohberger’s sister Amanda pictured)
“As a family, we continue to carry the victims, their families, and the entire Moscow community in our hearts and daily prayer,” they said.
“We continue to love and support Bryan and we continue to respect the memory of those lost. We seek to find justice and a conclusive resolution through the legal process.”
Kohberger admitted killing Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle inside an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022.
He accepted a plea agreement last July, shortly before his trial was due to start. In exchange, he avoided the possibility of receiving the death penalty for the fatal stabbings.
The court sentenced Kohberger to four consecutive life terms in prison. Under the terms of the deal, he also surrendered his right to appeal.
Latah County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Keith Scholl has argued that Kohberger “is not entitled to post-conviction relief” because the plea agreement waived “all rights to appeal any and all issues.”
Still, Idaho law permits Kohberger to file a post-conviction relief petition, a legal procedure that is separate from a conventional direct appeal.
“We continue to love and support Bryan and we continue to respect the memory of those lost. We seek to find justice and a conclusive resolution through the legal process,” the family said (Kohberger’s father Michael pictured)
If his petition succeeds, Kohberger could be permitted to withdraw his guilty plea and face a new trial—an outcome that could potentially reopen the possibility of a death sentence.
But Scholl is accusing Kohberger’s new attorneys of wasting time in order to come up with a better argument to secure his guilty plea withdrawal.
‘Unfortunately for [Kohberger], that is now how discovery in post-conviction proceedings works,’ wrote the prosecutor.
Kohberger’s lawyers have until November 13 to file an amended petition with more in-depth legal arguments, replacing the killers handwritten filing.
‘We think the [amended] PCR and evidentiary hearing will naturally address some of the outstanding and unanswered questions,’ Jason Goldman, Kohberger’s new attorney, told Fox News Digital.
‘That said, the main priority right now is to scrutinize the constitutional issues surrounding Bryan’s plea.’
The attorney said a part of the reason he joined the killer’s legal team was due to his family’s unwavering support.
‘Most family and friends run for the hills when a loved one is quietly arrested, let alone charged with a highly publicized murder,’ said Goldman.
Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive life terms behind bars, and as part of his agreement, waived his right to appeal
He accepted a plea deal last July, just before his trial was set to begin, and in turn, escaped a potential death penalty for stabbing them all to death inside the apartment (pictured)
‘The unwavering support Bryan maintains speaks volumes.’
Kohberger’s hearings to address his motion for post-conviction relief is set for June 17, 2027.
A three-part Netflix documentary series, The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare was released in July featuring many members of the victim’s families.
Kaylee’s mother, father and sister, Kristi, Steve and Alivea Goncalves; Xana’s father, Jeff Kernodle, and her little sister, Jazzmin Kernodle, were featured in the new show, among friends of the victims and law enforcement officials involved in the case.
After hearing about Kohberger’s latest legal move, Alivea – who slammed her sister’s killer during victim impact statements last year in court – said she wants him ‘no longer breathing on this earth.’
Alivea, 29, told NBC’s Today exactly how she feels now that Kohberger is trying to rewrite his past.
‘The fact that someone locked behind bars still has the ability to revictimize their victims, that’s something that isn’t just very easy to get over,’ she told the outlet.
‘This will never be over for us until the defendant is no longer breathing on this earth.’
The Goncalves family has remained vocal since the day they found out they lost Kaylee and her friends.
Alivea previously unleashed fury at Kohberger in the courtroom after he accepted a plea deal.
‘I won’t stand here and give you what you want. I won’t give you tears. Instead, I will call you what you are: sociopath, psychopath, murderer,’ she said in the face-to-face courtroom confrontation that was broadcast live.
‘The truth is you’re basic. You’re a textbook case as insecurity disguised as control. You spent months preparing and still all it took was my sister and a sheath,’ she added.
‘You’re as dumb as they come. Stupid, dumb, weak, dirty.’
