"My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn."
minute read
Bryan Kohberger is asking an Idaho court to withdraw his guilty plea in the killings of four University of Idaho students, saying he wants to reopen the case and claiming the plea was based on “false promises” and incorrect information.
Kohberger, who is serving time in prison after admitting to the murders last year, told The New York Times in a prison interview that he had filed a petition seeking post-conviction relief. Court documents show the filing was submitted Monday in Idaho.
The former Washington State University graduate student entered a guilty plea in 2025, becoming the first time he publicly acknowledged responsibility for the deaths of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.
"My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn,” Kohberger said in a statement provided to The New York Times.
Kohberger’s legal team has not publicly commented on the filing. The office of Anne Taylor, one of his attorneys, declined to comment.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador said his office is prepared to respond to the legal challenge. “My heart goes out to the families of Madison, Kaylee, Xana, and Ethan, who have already endured unimaginable loss and now must face today’s deeply painful news,” the statement read. “My office is ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure justice is fully carried out,” Labrador said in a statement to CNN.
After his December 2022 arrest, Kohberger’s first attorney said his client was eager to be cleared of the allegations. His court-appointed defense team spent more than two years challenging evidence against him before a plea agreement was reached just weeks before the case was set to go to trial.
Kohberger accepted responsibility for the killings during a July 2025 court hearing. As part of the plea deal, he was not required to provide a motive for the murders and has never publicly given one. The lack of a detailed explanation angered some victims’ relatives and drew criticism from President Trump, who had called for the judge to require Kohberger to explain his actions.
During the hearing, the judge asked Kohberger, “Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?”
“Yes,” Kohberger responded.
He later remained silent during his sentencing hearing as family members of the victims spoke about their loss and anger.
NewsNation reports that in a statement, the Goncalves family wrote: “The mosquito you just can’t seem to swat”—that is what Kohberger and his following have become to this family.
We read Mr. Baker’s story. He must be so proud of himself for speaking with Mr. Kohberger and his sister, giving them a platform to spread their narrative. The piece had little else to offer beyond a guilty man once again claiming he is innocent. Nowhere in the story—or in Kohberger’s own statement—does he not acknowledge that he “knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently” admitted to murdering the four victims of this tragedy: Kaylee, Maddie, Xana, and Ethan.
Quite the opposite. He appeared in court for a hearing before a judge, accompanied by his four lawyers. He chose not to leave his fate—or the facts of the case—to a jury. He never cried foul, never claimed he was uninformed or pressured, and never suggested there were problems with the discovery materials he and his counsel had reviewed for two years that should have been challenged. He admitted his guilt. When asked whether he was actually guilty, he answered, “Yes.”
We would have preferred a death-penalty trial; we believe fully in the evidence. Instead, BK received exactly what he asked for: a deal that spared his life. Know this—he hates that life. He wants another chance to roll the dice.
There will almost certainly be a hearing; that is how the legal process works. The defendant will get another day in court—a welcome break from solitary confinement: a ride, perhaps different food, photos taken, and the spotlight once again fixed on him and his supposed “innocence.” The real tragedy is this: if even a fraction of the energy spent trying to free a guilty man were directed toward honoring the victims, there would be statues of them on every corner, parks bearing their names, and days set aside to remember the lives they lost at the hands of a narcissist.
Kohberger, who is serving time in prison after admitting to the murders last year, told The New York Times in a prison interview that he had filed a petition seeking post-conviction relief. Court documents show the filing was submitted Monday in Idaho.
The former Washington State University graduate student entered a guilty plea in 2025, becoming the first time he publicly acknowledged responsibility for the deaths of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.
"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 provided to The New York Times.
Kohberger’s legal team has not publicly commented on the filing. The office of Anne Taylor, one of his attorneys, declined to comment.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador said his office is prepared to respond to the legal challenge. “My heart goes out to the families of Madison, Kaylee, Xana, and Ethan, who have already endured unimaginable loss and now must face today’s deeply painful news,” the statement read. “My office is ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure justice is fully carried out,” Labrador said in a statement to CNN.
After his December 2022 arrest, Kohberger’s first attorney said his client was eager to be cleared of the allegations. His court-appointed defense team spent more than two years challenging evidence against him before a plea agreement was reached just weeks before the case was set to go to trial.
Kohberger accepted responsibility for the killings during a July 2025 court hearing. As part of the plea deal, he was not required to provide a motive for the murders and has never publicly given one. The lack of a detailed explanation angered some victims’ relatives and drew criticism from President Trump, who had called for the judge to require Kohberger to explain his actions.
During the hearing, the judge asked Kohberger, “Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?”
“Yes,” Kohberger responded.
He later remained silent during his sentencing hearing as family members of the victims spoke about their loss and anger.
NewsNation reports that in a statement, the Goncalves family wrote: “The mosquito you just can’t seem to swat”—that is what Kohberger and his following have become to this family.
We read Mr. Baker’s story. He must be so proud of himself for speaking with Mr. Kohberger and his sister, giving them a platform to spread their narrative. The piece had little else to offer beyond a guilty man once again claiming he is innocent. Nowhere in the story—or in Kohberger’s own statement—does he not acknowledge that he “knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently” admitted to murdering the four victims of this tragedy: Kaylee, Maddie, Xana, and Ethan.
Quite the opposite. He appeared in court for a hearing before a judge, accompanied by his four lawyers. He chose not to leave his fate—or the facts of the case—to a jury. He never cried foul, never claimed he was uninformed or pressured, and never suggested there were problems with the discovery materials he and his counsel had reviewed for two years that should have been challenged. He admitted his guilt. When asked whether he was actually guilty, he answered, “Yes.”
We would have preferred a death-penalty trial; we believe fully in the evidence. Instead, BK received exactly what he asked for: a deal that spared his life. Know this—he hates that life. He wants another chance to roll the dice.
There will almost certainly be a hearing; that is how the legal process works. The defendant will get another day in court—a welcome break from solitary confinement: a ride, perhaps different food, photos taken, and the spotlight once again fixed on him and his supposed “innocence.” The real tragedy is this: if even a fraction of the energy spent trying to free a guilty man were directed toward honoring the victims, there would be statues of them on every corner, parks bearing their names, and days set aside to remember the lives they lost at the hands of a narcissist.
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