Bryan Kohberger files a petition to challenge his guilty plea and conviction
Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, is seeking to abandon his guilty plea and wants his day in court.
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Kohberger, who pleaded guilty in July 2025 to avoid a quadruple murder trial and is currently serving four life sentences, filed a “petition for post conviction relief” Monday in the Ada County District Court in Idaho. A petition for post conviction relief is a way to challenge a conviction outside of the appeals process. The court record indicates that Kohberger is representing himself.
It was not immediately clear on what grounds Kohberger was seeking the petition.
But in an interview with the New York Times, Kohberger claimed he is innocent and was misled into confessing to the murders.
“My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn,” Kohberger said in a statement to the newspaper on Sunday night.
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Kohberger admitted last year to killing the four students: Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20 — at an off-campus house Nov. 13, 2022.
A criminology student, Kohberger took a plea deal and was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences for four counts of first-degree murder and 10 years in prison for a burglary charge.
Prior to the filing, Kohberger had not made any public statements suggesting he might change his plea.
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