BRYAN KOHBERGER GRANTED 2027 HEARING IN BID TO WITHDRAW GUILTY PLEA

BOISE, Idaho — Bryan Kohberger, who is serving four consecutive life sentences for the 2022 killings of four University of Idaho students, has been granted an evidentiary hearing as he seeks to withdraw his guilty plea and potentially pursue a new trial.

Judge Steven Hippler, who accepted Kohberger’s guilty pleas in July 2025, has scheduled a status conference for June 3, 2027, followed by an evidentiary hearing on June 17, 2027.

KOHBERGER NOW WANTS TO TAKE BACK HIS PLEA

Kohberger pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary involving the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

The plea agreement removed the possibility of the death penalty. He was ultimately sentenced to four consecutive life terms without parole, plus 10 years for burglary.

But in July 2026, Kohberger filed a handwritten petition seeking post-conviction relief.

In the petition, he claims his defense attorneys pressured or misled him into pleading guilty and alleges that potentially favorable information was withheld from him.

A HEARING DOES NOT MEAN HIS CONVICTION HAS BEEN OVERTURNED

The judge’s decision to schedule an evidentiary hearing does not mean Kohberger has been granted a new trial or that his convictions have been vacated.

Instead, the upcoming hearing will give the court an opportunity to examine his claims and determine whether he has established a legal basis for withdrawing his plea.

Prosecutors have already sought dismissal of his petition without a hearing.

HIS ORIGINAL PLEA DEAL SPARED HIM FROM THE DEATH PENALTY

Kohberger’s guilty plea came weeks before his scheduled trial.

Under the agreement, prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death penalty. In exchange, Kohberger admitted responsibility for the four killings and gave up his right to appeal under the plea agreement.

Now, he is attempting to undo that agreement.

If his request ultimately succeeds and a new trial is ordered, prosecutors could potentially seek the death penalty again, depending on the legal consequences of withdrawing the plea and the applicable Idaho law.

FOUR STUDENTS WERE KILLED IN 2022

The case stems from the November 2022 killings at an off-campus home near the University of Idaho in Moscow.

The victims were Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

Kohberger was arrested several weeks later and eventually charged in the case. He initially maintained his innocence before changing his plea in 2025.

THE NEXT MAJOR COURT DATE IS MORE THAN A YEAR AWAY

For now, Kohberger remains in prison under his existing sentences.

The next major development is scheduled for June 2027, when the court is expected to examine his post-conviction claims.

Until then, his convictions remain legally valid.

Kohberger once admitted responsibility for the four killings in open court. Now, more than a year after accepting a plea deal that spared him the death penalty, he is asking a judge to let him take that plea back — setting the stage for another major legal battle in the Idaho case.