Kohberger Family Backs Bid to Overturn Guilty Plea

The family of Bryan Kohberger, who is serving four consecutive life sentences for the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, has publicly expressed support for his legal effort to withdraw his guilty plea and stand trial. In a statement, the family said their support stems from a need to see the "complete and unvarnished truth" emerge through a proper trial. Kohberger pleaded guilty in 2025 to killing seniors Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21, and juniors Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, both 20, in an off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho. The plea deal, which spared him the death penalty, resulted in four consecutive life sentences without parole. He has since filed a motion for postconviction relief, alleging his public defenders coerced him into the plea through false promises and disinformation. "My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn," Kohberger stated in a written message to The New York Times in July. His family emphasized their support does not come from a place of disregard for the victims' families, but from a desire for a conclusive resolution.