Kohberger Prosecutors Oppose Bid to Remove Idaho Judge Over ‘Faceless Coward’ Remark

Bryan Kohberger, the former University of Idaho student convicted of killing four classmates, is seeking to have the judge who sentenced him removed from his case. His attorneys argue that Judge Steven Hippler showed bias by calling Kohberger a “faceless coward” and saying he could find nothing “good or intrinsically human” in him. Prosecutors counter that the judge’s remarks do not establish bias as Kohberger attempts to withdraw his guilty plea.

During sentencing, Hippler said Kohberger, 31, “slithered” into the victims’ home and described him as “the worst of the worst.” The judge also addressed Kohberger’s decision not to explain his motive under a plea agreement that spared him the possibility of the death penalty.

“Even if I could force him to speak, which legally I cannot, how could anyone ever be assured that what he speaks is the truth?” Hippler said. “Do we really believe, after all of this, he is capable of speaking the truth, or of giving up something of himself to help the very people whose lives he destroyed? Rather, I suspect the so-called reason would be dished out in enticing self-serving and aggrandizing untruthful bits, leaving people wanting more information, more insight, and thus enhancing even further the power he seeks to hold.”

Hippler was also seen wiping tears from his eyes as he listened to emotional statements from the victims’ families.

Kohberger’s new defense team filed a motion seeking Hippler’s removal Aug. 27. The attorneys allege that the judge’s comments during sentencing revealed prejudice and that he pushed the case toward trial before Kohberger’s previous lawyers were prepared.

Prosecutors argued that a judge can be removed only when a motion demonstrates that “the judge is biased,” emphasizing the word “is” in their filing.

“None of petitioner’s allegations against this Court — taken alone or together — have [met] that ‘extremely high’ bar,” prosecutors wrote. The filing was signed by outgoing Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson, who announced his retirement earlier this week, and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Keith Scholl.

Scholl previously asked the court to obtain transcripts from Kohberger’s plea-change and sentencing hearings. During those proceedings, the former criminology Ph.D. student admitted guilt and said he was entering the plea knowingly and without coercion.

The prosecution’s response maintains that Hippler’s statements, made after Kohberger admitted killing four students, were neither unusual nor improper under the circumstances.

“In our case, the sentencing remarks are not enough to show bias, and the required showing of perceived bias cannot be tied to this Court’s capacity to fairly adjudicate any [post-conviction relief] claims alleged in this case but rather puts this Court in the best position to adjudicate them as the legislature and the Idaho Supreme Court’s rules intend,” prosecutors wrote.

Hippler has set a virtual hearing on the recusal motion for Oct. 15.

In a handwritten petition filed in July, Kohberger claimed he received ineffective legal representation. He said his guilty plea was “not knowingly or voluntarily entered because it was induced by unkept promises” and was also involuntary because of threats allegedly made by his attorneys.

The court appointed Moscow, Idaho, attorney Greg Rauch to lead Kohberger’s case. Kohberger’s family has separately hired New York attorney Jason Goldman.

Hippler gave Rauch until Nov. 13 — exactly four years after the killings — to submit an amended petition on Kohberger’s behalf.

Kohberger pleaded guilty July 2, 2025, to four counts of first-degree murder and one burglary charge in the stabbing deaths of 21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves and 20-year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

On July 23, 2025, Hippler sentenced him to four consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus another 10 years, as part of a plea deal in which Kohberger avoided the death penalty.

The change of plea came days after Hippler refused to grant Kohberger’s former defense team more time for discovery ahead of trial.