Bryan Kohberger Seeks to Withdraw Guilty Plea in Idaho Murders

Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted of murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022, has filed a handwritten petition asking to withdraw his guilty plea. Kohberger, 31, is currently serving four consecutive life sentences for the stabbing deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen. In his petition, filed from the Idaho Maximum Security Penitentiary, Kohberger claims his attorneys manipulated him into pleading guilty by promising better prison conditions and threatening him about life on death row. He alleges his plea was not voluntary or knowing, citing undisclosed exculpatory evidence, such as an 'unknown hair in Chapin’s hand,' and false promises about prison conditions. Kohberger previously told the court in July 2025 that his plea was 'freely and voluntarily' entered and that he was guilty. His attorneys had negotiated the plea deal to avoid the death penalty, which prosecutors agreed not to seek in exchange for four life sentences without parole plus 10 years. If Kohberger’s request to withdraw his plea is granted, he could face a new trial and the possibility of the death penalty, experts say.