Bryan Kohberger Prosecutors Oppose Bid to Remove Judge Who Called Him a ‘Faceless Coward’

Bryan Kohberger is seeking to remove the judge who called him a “faceless coward” and said he could find nothing “good or intrinsically human” about him during sentencing. Prosecutors argue, however, that the judge’s remarks do not establish bias as Kohberger attempts to undo his guilty plea.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Steven Hippler said Kohberger, 31, “slithered” into the victims’ home and described the crime as making him “the worst of the worst.” Kohberger had admitted guilt the previous year under a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty and did not require him to explain his actions.

“Even if I could force him to speak, which legally I cannot, how could anyone ever be assured that what he speaks is the truth?” Hippler said during sentencing. “Do we really believe, after all of this, he is capable of speaking the truth, or of giving up something of himself to help the very people whose lives he destroyed? Rather, I suspect the so-called reason would be dished out in enticing self-serving and aggrandizing untruthful bits, leaving people wanting more information, more insight, and thus enhancing even further the power he seeks to hold.”

The judge was also seen wiping tears from his eyes while listening to emotional statements from the victims’ families.

Kohberger’s new attorneys filed a motion Aug. 27 asking Hippler to recuse himself. They argued that the judge made biased comments during sentencing and moved the case toward trial too quickly, before Kohberger’s previous defense team was prepared.

Prosecutors countered that a recusal request must establish that “the judge is biased,” with the italicized wording emphasizing the legal standard.

“None of petitioner’s allegations against this Court — taken alone or together — have me that ‘extremely high’ bar,” prosecutors wrote in a filing signed by outgoing Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Keith Scholl. Thompson announced his retirement earlier this week.

Scholl had earlier requested transcripts from Kohberger’s plea-change and sentencing hearings. During those proceedings, the former criminology Ph.D. student admitted guilt and confirmed that he was entering the plea knowingly and without coercion.

The prosecution’s response maintains that Hippler’s comments about Kohberger, made after he admitted killing four students, were neither unusual nor improper.

“In our case, the sentencing remarks are not enough to show bias, and the required showing of perceived bias cannot be tied to this Court’s capacity to fairly adjudicate any [post-conviction relief] claims alleged in this case but rather puts this Court in the best position to adjudicate them as the legislature and the Idaho Supreme Court’s rules intend,” prosecutors wrote.

Hippler has scheduled a virtual hearing on the recusal motion for Oct. 15.

In a handwritten petition filed in July, Kohberger claimed he received ineffective legal representation. He argued that his guilty plea was “not knowingly or voluntarily entered because it was induced by unkept promises” and was also involuntary because of “threats asserted by [his] legal counsel.”

The court appointed Moscow, Idaho, attorney Greg Rauch to handle the case. Kohberger’s family has separately retained Jason Goldman, a private attorney from New York.

Hippler ordered Rauch to file an amended petition for Kohberger by Nov. 13 — the fourth anniversary of the murders.

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.

On July 23, 2025, Hippler sentenced him to four consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus another 10 years, as part of a plea deal in which Kohberger avoided the death penalty.

The change of plea came days after Hippler refused to grant Kohberger’s former defense team more time for discovery ahead of trial.