Bryan Kohberger, convicted for the chilling murder of four University of Idaho students, has secured two court days next year to pursue post-conviction relief. This comes after he surprisingly withdrew his guilty plea, which he had made a year prior in connection to the brutal stabbings.
Judge Steven Hippler, who originally accepted Kohberger’s guilty pleas in July 2025, has scheduled a status conference on June 3, 2027, followed by an evidentiary hearing slated for June 17, according to a court order issued on Wednesday.
Despite the prosecution’s request to have Kohberger’s petition dismissed without discussion, the judge has opted to move forward with these proceedings.
Bryan Kohberger is pictured at the Ada County Courthouse during his sentencing on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. He faced trial for the vicious murders of four University of Idaho students that took place nearly three years ago. (AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool) (Kyle Green/AP Photo, Pool)
In a deal made in July 2025, Kohberger confessed to murdering Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, thus avoiding the death penalty. This plea agreement was pivotal in determining his fate at the time.
A year later, he asked to withdraw his guilty pleas and proclaimed his innocence in a petition for post-conviction relief.
Bryan Kohberger arrives at a Pennsylvania courthouse for an extradition hearing in January 2023. He pleaded guilty to the murders of four University of Idaho students on July 1, 2025 (The Image Direct for News Media)
Kohberger, in a handwritten petition on July 27, 2026, claimed that he was “convinced to falsely confess,” by his high-profile defense team of Anne Taylor, Elisa Massoth and Bicka Barlow. He alleged that they failed to tell him about “exculpatory discovery” — hair found at the scene that was not tested for DNA. It was excluded as Kohberger’s through a physical analysis.
University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were killed in a November 2022 attack at an off-campus house on King Road in Moscow, Idaho. (Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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His new attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Police found his DNA on a knife sheath recovered from the crime scene, in a bed with two of the victims, according to authorities. They also tracked his vehicle coming and going, and forensic investigators were prepared to testify about how, although he shut his phone off during the murders, the evidence suggested he drove to and from the crime scene anyway.
Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
Separately, Sy Ray, a former expert witness working for Kohberger’s defense team, last month alleged that there is additional damaging evidence that investigators hadn’t introduced before Kohberger’s guilty plea.
Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing on July 23, 2025 in Boise, Idaho. Kohberger pleaded guilty in exchange for being spared the death penalty for the stabbing of four University of Idaho students. Netflix’s documentary about the case, “The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare.” is now streaming. (Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images)
Hippler sentenced him to four consecutive terms of life without the possibility of parole, plus another 10 years.
The plea deal required Kohberger to waive his right to appeal, however, that doesn’t block him from seeking post-conviction relief, which could potentially reopen the case or result in a new trial.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador told News Media shortly after Kohberger’s petition was filed that his office is “ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure justice is fully carried out.”