Idaho judge grants Bryan Kohberger two hearings next year as admitted killer seeks to withdraw guilty plea
Convicted quadruple murderer Bryan Kohberger, who admitted to stabbing four University of Idaho students a year before he proclaimed his innocence and asked to withdraw his guilty plea, has been granted two days in court next year as part of his petition for post-conviction relief.
Judge Steven Hippler, who accepted Kohberger's guilty pleas in July 2025, set a status conference for June 3, 2027, and an evidentiary hearing two weeks later on June 17 of that year, according to a court order dated Wednesday.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to dismiss Kohberger's petition without a hearing.
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Kohberger pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the murders of four University of Idaho students — Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin — in a plea deal that spared him from the potential death penalty.
A year later, he asked to withdraw his guilty pleas and proclaimed his innocence in a petition for post-conviction relief.
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Kohberger, in a handwritten petition on July 27, 2026, claimed that he was "convinced to falsely confess" by his high-profile defense team of Anne Taylor, Elisa Massoth and Bicka Barlow. He alleged that they failed to tell him about "exculpatory discovery" — hair found at the scene that was not tested for DNA. It was excluded as Kohberger's through a physical analysis.
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His new attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Police found his DNA on a knife sheath recovered from the crime scene in a bed with two of the victims, according to authorities. They also tracked his vehicle coming and going, and forensic investigators were prepared to testify about how. Although he shut his phone off during the murders, the evidence suggested he drove to and from the crime scene anyway.
Separately, Sy Ray, a former expert witness working for Kohberger's defense team, last month alleged that there is additional damaging evidence that investigators hadn't introduced before Kohberger's guilty plea.
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Hippler sentenced him to four consecutive terms of life without the possibility of parole, plus another 10 years.
The plea deal required Kohberger to waive his right to appeal. However, that doesn't block him from seeking post-conviction relief, which could potentially reopen the case or result in a new trial.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador told Fox News Digital shortly after Kohberger's petition was filed that his office is "ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure justice is fully carried out."