Kohberger Seeks to Withdraw Guilty Plea, Claims Family Involved in Defense Discussions

Bryan Kohberger, convicted of murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022, has filed court documents asserting that members of his immediate family were present during confidential discussions with his legal team. The newly disclosed petition seeks post-conviction relief and aims to undo the guilty plea he entered last year in exchange for prosecutors abandoning capital punishment charges.

In his handwritten motion submitted Monday, Kohberger contends he was “convinced to falsely confess” and alleges his three-attorney defense team—Anne Taylor, Elisa Massoth, and Bicka Barlow—withheld exculpatory evidence from him. He referenced material discussed in the book “Broken Plea” that he claims was never presented in court proceedings.

Kohberger further claims his attorneys fabricated details about Idaho’s death row conditions to pressure him into accepting the plea agreement. He specifically alleges one attorney described touring an actual 8-foot-by-8-foot death-row cell, a claim he characterizes as invented and used to intimidate both him and his family into capitulating.

In a statement to the New York Times, Kohberger declared that “justice was not served” and that it was “circumnavigated by a broken plea.” Ada County District Judge Steven Hippler granted his request Wednesday for court-appointed counsel, directing the Idaho State Public Defender to assign new representation for all post-conviction proceedings.