Bryan Kohberger files a petition to challenge his guilty plea and conviction - NBC News
Bryan Kohberger, convicted of the 2022 University of Idaho murders, has filed a petition to withdraw his guilty plea. He claims his previous legal counsel was ineffective and that he was coerced into a false confession.
Why it matters
This legal development challenges a high-profile murder conviction and raises questions about the integrity of the original plea agreement.
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. Kohberger, who pleaded guilty in July 2025 to avoid a quadruple murder trial and is 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 the appeals process. The court record indicates that Kohberger is representing himself. Kohberger, in court documents obtained by NBC News, stated that he received “ineffective” counsel from his defense lawyers and that he was “convinced to falsely confess” to a crime he says he did not commit. Kohberger wrote that he was convinced that actual guilt was not an important factor in considering the plea acceptance.
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