Bryan Kohberger seeks to withdraw guilty plea in Idaho student murders

Bryan Kohberger is now saying he’s innocent in the murders of four University of Idaho students and wants to take back his guilty plea.

Kohberger told The New York Times his plea was based on misinformation and “false promises.”

“My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, must be withdrawn,” Kohberger said in a statement.

ABC News Legal Analyst Brian Buckmire said it’s likely too late for a plea change.

“Specifically in Idaho, the standard is that there needs to be a manifest injustice,” Buckmire said on ABC News. “And that’s extremely difficult to do in a situation like this, where judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys are all trained on how to make sure that a defendant is properly informed, that they know they are taking a plea voluntarily, and that they’re knowledgeable in the conditions of that plea, and so this would be an uphill battle for anyone.”

Kohberger would not discuss any evidence or specific details related to his claim of innocence with The New York Times.

Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty in July 2025

Kohberger pleaded guilty July 2, 2025, to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty.

Some of the victims’ families opposed the plea deal. Shanon Gray, an attorney representing the family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the slain students, confirmed that prosecutors informed the families of the deal by email and letter on Monday, and that his clients were upset about it.

“We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho,” Goncalves’ family wrote in a Facebook post. “They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected.”

Goncalves’ family previously asked prosecutors to delay the change of plea hearing to give them more time to travel to Boise, Gray said. Steve Goncalves, Kaylee’s father, chose to stay outside the courtroom Wednesday as a form of protest.

“We’ll never see this as justice,” Goncalves told KIRO 7. “This isn’t what we should be doing. You don’t deal with terrorists, and you don’t deal with people who kill your kids in their sleep.”

Goncalves has been urging the judge and the Department of Justice to reject the plea deal.

On July 25, 2025, Kohberger was ordered to serve four life sentences without parole, The Associated Press reported. Kohberger was also given a 10-year sentence for burglary and $270,000 in fines and civil penalties.

Kohberger is accused of the stabbing deaths of Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, early on Nov. 13, 2022.

Contributing: Aaron Granillo, KIRO Newsradio; Jason Sutich and Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest; KIRO 7

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