Idaho prosecutors say Bryan Kohberger’s newly appointed defense team is using the post-conviction process to go on a “fishing expedition” as it seeks more time to strengthen his effort to take back his guilty plea.
“Unfortunately for [Kohberger], that is not how discovery in post-conviction proceedings works,” Deputy Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Keith Scholl wrote in his response to the convicted killer’s request for an extension to submit an amended petition.
The current filing deadline falls on Nov. 13, exactly four years after the Moscow, Idaho, killings of four University of Idaho students.
Bryan Kohberger is seen at his July 23, 2025, sentencing hearing at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho. Kohberger entered a guilty plea that allowed him to avoid the death penalty in the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students. (Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images)
Kohberger’s attorneys contend that meeting the November deadline could permanently bar him from raising claims left out of the amended petition. They have argued that discovery deadlines extending into next year should allow them to review the relevant evidence before putting forward the filing.
Randolph Rice, a Maryland attorney and legal analyst who has closely followed the Idaho student murders case, said post-conviction discovery is intended to help a defendant substantiate an existing constitutional argument, such as a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.
Madison Mogen, at top left, sits on best friend Kaylee Goncalves’ shoulders while posing with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, published one day before the four students were fatally stabbed. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
“It isn’t supposed to be a fishing expedition to help you invent a new one,” Rice said. “You don’t get to throw a fishing net into the discovery ocean and hope you pull up a constitutional violation.”
Prosecutors also have asked the court to dismiss Kohberger’s handwritten petition altogether. That request is not widely expected to prevail, however, because his legal team is likely to submit a replacement amended petition.
Judge Steven Hippler set a Nov. 13 deadline for Bryan Kohberger’s new defense attorneys to revise his handwritten filing. (Katherine Jones/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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Kohberger pleaded guilty on July 2, 2025, to four counts of first-degree murder and a burglary charge for the stabbing deaths of 21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves as well as 20-year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
Latah County Prosecutor, Bill Thompson walks across the carpark at Latah County Courthouse, Moscow, Idaho, Aug. 7, 2026. (Derek Shook for News Media)
A year later, he claimed in a self-produced motion for post-conviction relief that he had ineffective counsel and was duped into pleading guilty by his former defense attorneys.
Judge Steven Hippler gave his new legal team until Nov. 13 to amend Kohberger’s handwritten filing.
Bryan Kohberger arrives at Monroe County Courthouse in Pennsylvania in advance of his extradition hearing. (The Image Direct for News Media)
The convicted killer’s lawyers have separately filed a motion to disqualify Hippler from overseeing the case, citing concerns of potential bias, and to change the venue back to Latah County, where the crimes took place.
A still image from bodycam video shows Bryan Kohberger in an Aug. 21, 2022, traffic stop in Latah County, Idaho. (Latah County Sheriff’s Office)
Kohberger’s criminal defense team had previously changed the venue out of Latah County. The court moved it to Ada County to address fair trial concerns.
The Latah County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and Kohberger’s new lead lawyer, Greg Rauch, are both based in the county seat of Moscow.
News Media reached out to prosecutors and Kohberger’s team.