Bryan Kohberger seeks to withdraw guilty plea, claims innocence
Bryan Kohberger, convicted of killing four University of Idaho students, says he wants to withdraw his guilty plea and seek a trial, claiming actual innocence and arguing the plea rested on false promises, according to a New York Times report.
Key Takeaways
- Bryan Kohberger told the New York Times he intends to enter a not-guilty plea and pursue a trial nearly 13 months after pleading guilty.
- He was sentenced in July 2025 to four consecutive life terms without parole under a deal that avoided a possible death sentence.
- Idaho law still allows a post-conviction relief petition; his filing deadline falls in the first week of September 2026.
- Reopening the case could put the death penalty—or even a federal capital case—back on the table.
Bryan Kohberger broke his silence in a statement and phone interview with The New York Times, saying for the first time since sentencing that he wants his guilty plea withdrawn. The move keeps one of the most closely watched cases in recent true crime coverage from a closed chapter.
What is Bryan Kohberger asking the courts to do?
Almost 13 months after he pleaded guilty, Kohberger says he will fight his conviction for the November 2022 killings of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.
In a statement dated July 26, 2026, he wrote that “actual innocence is my truth” and that the plea, “hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn.” He also said he welcomes the state proving its case at trial and again seeking the death penalty.
“Why am I breaking my silence?” Kohberger told the Times by phone. “A lot went wrong in those plea discussions. I really do want to be heard.”
Why does the original guilty plea still matter?
As part of his 2025 plea deal, Kohberger, now 31, accepted life without parole and waived appeal rights to avoid a possible death sentence. At an early July 2025 hearing before Judge Steven Hippler, he answered “yes” when asked if he was pleading guilty because he was guilty.
He also endorsed his public defenders under oath, including lead attorney Anne Taylor. Like other prisoners, though, he retains the right to seek post-conviction relief—an avenue that cannot be signed away—including arguments about inadequate legal representation. A 2019 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Garza v. Idaho, affirmed that certain Sixth Amendment appeals cannot be fully waived.
Could Bryan Kohberger still face the death penalty?
Merely signaling an appeal does not itself void a plea deal. But an effort to reopen the case could jeopardize his current sentence and restore capital punishment as a risk, or even open the door to a federal case where the death penalty could return.
Under Idaho law, a post-conviction petition must be sought within a year after a 42-day clock tied to the direct-appeal deadline expires. For Kohberger, that petition deadline is the first week of September 2026. He has spent just over a year in segregated lockup at Idaho’s maximum-security prison south of Boise since his July 2025 sentencing to four consecutive life terms.
Whether a court will let him take back the plea remains unresolved. What is clear is that Kohberger is now publicly claiming innocence and racing a hard statutory clock to ask for a trial.