Bryan Kohberger seeks to withdraw guilty plea in Idaho murders

Bryan Kohberger, the 31‑year‑old former doctoral criminology student convicted of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, has filed a petition to withdraw his guilty plea. In the petition he alleges that his defense attorneys misled him into accepting the plea, a move that could reopen the possibility of a death‑penalty trial. The original plea deal, entered in July 2025, spared him a capital sentence and resulted in four consecutive life‑sentence terms. Prosecutors say the evidence against Kohberger—including DNA on a combat‑knife sheath, purchase records for the weapon, and surveillance footage—was overwhelming. The filing revives legal uncertainty for the victims’ families and re‑ignites public debate over the case, which has also been the subject of a new Netflix documentary series. The court has yet to rule on the petition, leaving the future of the case unresolved.