Bryan Kohberger, the 31-year-old who pleaded guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students, said in a statement Monday that he wants to abandon his confession and go to trial, citing concerns he had with the plea deal process.
Kohberger, a former criminology student convicted of murdering the four students in their home in 2022, said he was innocent and that the plea deal “hinged on false promises and blatant disinformation,” in a statement to the New York Times.
The newspaper reported that Kohberger claimed he was “misled” into confessing to the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle, but did not elaborate further.
“Over a year later, it is self-evident that, in State v. Kohberger, justice was not served,” Kohberger wrote. “Unanswered questions seem to multiply with each piece of discovery unsealed, and the public demands the truth.”
“My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn.”
Kohberger did not explain what specific concerns he had with the plea deal, though he mentioned evidence, the probable cause affidavit and a “broken plea.”
“Why am I breaking my silence?” Kohberger told the Times by phone on Sunday. “A lot went wrong in those plea discussions. I really do want that to be heard.”
He declined to discuss specific evidence in a phone interview with the outlet. Still, he said that “the intention is for all of those questions to be investigated and answered appropriately in a trial setting.”
Kohberger is currently serving four consecutive life sentences for the murders of Mogen, Goncalves, Chapin and Kernodle, which he confessed to in July 2025 just weeks before a trial was set to take place.
As part of the plea deal, the death penalty was taken off the table in exchange for Kohberger’s admission. He also waived his right to any appeal or the chance of parole in accepting the deal.
Kohberger’s petition to open the case is not an appeal and therefore does not violate the terms of the plea deal.
The family of Kaylee Goncalves blasted Kohberger as “the mosquito you just can’t seem to swat” in a statement reacting to his petition.
“Nothing in the story or in Kohbergers [sic] statement does he allude to the fact the he did not ‘knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently’ admit to murdering the 4 victims of this tragedy. Kaylee, Maddie, Xana and Ethan,” the Goncalves family wrote on Facebook Monday. “Quite to the contrary he appeared in court, in a hearing, in front of a Judge, with his 4 lawyers [sic].”
“Regardless of how this turns out, our family is 100% ready. An actual trial this time? Let's go!” the statement continued. “We are confident he will get the death penalty that he escaped by pleading guilty the first time around...Just an absolute waste of time and taxpayers money. It's a disgrace.”
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador also weighed in on Kohberger’s update. “My heart goes out to the families of Madison, Kaylee, Xana, and Ethan, who have already endured unimaginable loss and now must face today’s deeply painful news,” Labrador said. “My office stands ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure justice is fully carried out.”
The murder of the four University of Idaho students inside their off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022, rocked the town, which had not experienced a homicide in seven years.
Kohberger was arrested weeks after the murders in late December.
Law enforcement officials had linked Kohberger to the murders through DNA evidence from a knife sheath found at the scene of the murders, as well as surveillance footage of a car that matched Kohberger's in the area at the time of the murders, and cell phone tower data.
At his arraignment, Kohberger had refused to enter a plea – leading the judge to enter a not-guilty plea for him.
Just weeks before the trial, he entered an unexpected guilty plea. However, Kohberger never offered a motive for the killing, which left the families with no answer as to why their children were killed.
The Goncalves family spoke out against the plea deal after it was announced, saying they were blindsided and “beyond furious” by the move.
Steven Goncalves, Kaylee’s brother, accused Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson of numerous “failures” and argued plea deals leave families “feeling unheard.”
