Judge approves new lawyer for Bryan Kohberger in Idaho murder trial
A judge has granted Bryan Kohberger’s bid for new legal representation as he pursues an effort to reopen his case and seek a new trial, even after pleading guilty to the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. Legal analyst Mehek Cooke noted that overturning a guilty plea is an exceptionally difficult legal hurdle, while relatives of the victims say the latest development forces them to endure the trauma all over again.
Bryan Kohberger, whose high-profile murder prosecution has reportedly exceeded $8 million in taxpayer costs, will receive a new taxpayer-funded lawyer as he attempts to undo his guilty plea in the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students.
Ada County District Judge Steven Hippler approved Kohberger’s request for court-appointed counsel on Wednesday, ordering the Idaho State Public Defender to assign an attorney to handle his representation throughout post-conviction proceedings.
The decision follows Kohberger’s recent handwritten petition for post-conviction relief, in which he asked to withdraw the guilty plea he entered last year under an agreement that led prosecutors to take the death penalty off the table.
In that filing, Kohberger alleged he had been “convinced to falsely confess” and accused his former defense team — Anne Taylor, Elisa Massoth and Bicka Barlow — of failing to provide what he characterized as “exculpatory discovery.” He pointed to material referenced in the recent book “Broken Plea,” evidence he says was never tested or reviewed in court.
Kohberger’s latest claims stand in sharp contrast to his earlier statements in court, when he affirmed that he was pleading guilty knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily, and that no one had pressured him or offered promises outside the plea agreement.
As News Outlet previously reported, the petition has angered the family of victim Kaylee Goncalves. Her mother, Kristi Goncalves, said the family is ready to return to court if Kohberger is allowed to revive the case.
Hippler’s order states Kohberger’s motion for appointed counsel was granted under Idaho’s post-conviction relief statute and directs the Idaho State Public Defender to appoint an attorney to represent him throughout the proceedings.
The judge also noted that Kohberger had filed a motion seeking to proceed on partial payment of court fees, but said filing fees do not apply to petitions for post-conviction relief.
Kohberger pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, admitting he fatally stabbed the four students inside an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. He was later sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.
An analysis by the Idaho Statesman found the investigation, prosecution and publicly funded defense have cost taxpayers more than $8 million.
Kohberger’s publicly funded defense alone accounted for nearly $5.5 million of that total, including nearly $2.8 million funded by Latah County before October 2024 and more than $2.65 million in additional defense costs after the state assumed responsibility for the case.
The remaining costs include spending by local and state law enforcement, prosecutors, the University of Idaho and the cost of housing Kohberger in custody after his arrest.
Public records reviewed by the Statesman show Kohberger’s attorneys have collectively earned more than $980,000 since the transition to the statewide public defender system.
It remains unclear how much his post-conviction proceedings will add to the taxpayer tab. INC News has reached out to the Idaho State Public Defender’s Office for comment.
Prosecutors said Kohberger turned off his cellphone before entering the off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, where the four students were fatally stabbed in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, and turned it back on after the killings.
Court records also show he searched online for local police dispatch audio after the murders. Investigators found none of the victims’ DNA inside his car after seizing it in Pennsylvania, but an FBI analyst concluded soil recovered from a shovel in the vehicle was consistent with dirt from the Moscow area.
At his sentencing last year, Kohberger received four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. He showed little visible emotion as relatives of the victims and the two surviving roommates delivered emotional victim impact statements condemning him for the killings.
