Kohberger seeks to withdraw guilty plea, requests a new trial

Bryan Kohberger filed a handwritten petition from prison asking a court to withdraw his guilty plea to the four University of Idaho student murders, alleging his lawyers manipulated him with promises and threats; the plea deal spared him the death penalty in exchange for four consecutive life sentences, and Kohberger argues the plea was not entered knowingly or voluntarily. Idaho law requires manifest injustice to withdraw a plea, a high bar, and Kohberger’s team notes that a 2025 proceeding already established the plea was voluntary.