Judge approves new lawyer for Bryan Kohberger in Idaho murder trial
A judge has granted Bryan Kohberger’s bid to bring in a new attorney as he pushes for a new trial, even after admitting guilt in the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. Legal analyst Mehek Cooke noted that reversing a guilty plea is an exceptionally difficult legal challenge, as relatives of the victims say the latest court fight is forcing them to endure the heartbreak all over again.
Bryan Kohberger is now claiming that his family took part in discussions surrounding his plea deal, according to newly unsealed court filings obtained by News Outlet, as he seeks to take back his guilty plea.
Kohberger, who admitted to fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students in 2022, has filed a post-conviction relief petition asking the court to let him withdraw the plea he entered last year. That agreement spared him a possible death sentence after prosecutors agreed to remove capital punishment from the case.
In the handwritten petition submitted Monday, Kohberger stated that “members of Kohberger’s immediate family” were present during conversations that he described as attorney-client discussions.
Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing on July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. (Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images)
Kohberger also alleges he was “convinced to falsely confess,” accusing his prominent defense team — Anne Taylor, Elisa Massoth and Bicka Barlow — of failing to tell him about what he calls “exculpatory discovery.” The material was referenced in the recent book “Broken Plea,” though it has not been tested or examined in court.
In a message sent to the New York Times, Kohberger argued that “justice was not served,” saying it had been “circumnavigated by a broken plea.”
Bryan Christopher Kohberger is seen in a booking photo after his arrest on Dec. 30, 2022, in Pennsylvania. (Monroe County Correctional Facility via Getty Images)
“Broken Plea” is the title of a recent book about the case that shed new light on what the defense may have looked like at trial — and his use of the term surprised author Chris Whitcomb, who says he had never spoken to Kohberger.
Whitcomb told “Crime & Justice” podcast host Donna Rotunno on Thursday he has never communicated with Kohberger or any member of his family, and Whitcomb has no information on whether Kohberger or any of his family members read the book.
As for his petition, Kohberger claims his attorneys misrepresented what Idaho’s death row would be like.
He alleges one attorney told an elaborate story about personally “touring an actual 8-foot-by-8-foot death-row cell,” which Kohberger said was “fabricated.”
People leave the Ada County Courthouse after the Bryan Kohberger sentencing Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. (Drew Nash/AP Photo)
He said this information was communicated to him and his family and was used to frighten or pressure him into accepting the plea deal.
On Wednesday, Ada County District Judge Steven Hippler granted Kohberger’s request for court-appointed counsel, directing the Idaho State Public Defender to appoint a new attorney to represent him in all post-conviction proceedings.
News Outlet has reached out to Kohberger’s former defense team.
