Bryan Kohberger has reportedly spoken from the Idaho prison where he is being held after admitting to the murders of four University of Idaho students, saying he now believes accepting the plea deal was a mistake.
Kohberger, a former criminology student, was sentenced in connection with the November 2022 killings of four students at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.
The victims were Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
Investigators previously said phone data placed Kohberger in the area, and the case against him also included evidence linked to a knife sheath recovered at the scene, along with other details presented during the investigation.
Although he entered a guilty plea in July 2025, Kohberger is now attempting to reverse that decision. According to the New York Times, he wants to withdraw the plea and instead pursue a trial while asserting that he is innocent.
Kohberger reportedly filed a petition for post-conviction relief on Monday, July 27, 2026, and is currently representing himself in the matter.
In comments to the paper, Kohberger, who is serving four life sentences, said he had submitted a petition challenging the conviction. He claims he was given misleading information before agreeing to the deal and is now making what he described as an ‘absolute claim of innocence’.
Per the statement to the Times – which was allegedly sent on Sunday (July 26) evening and the petition apparently reached court the morning after: “My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn.”
The outlet said neither that statement nor his phone interview laid out detailed complaints about how the plea agreement was handled.
The case drew intense public and media attention because of the brutality of the killings and the high-profile nature of the investigation.
Among the evidence previously reported were DNA said to have been found on a Ka-Bar knife sheath discovered near two of the victims, Amazon purchase records indicating he bought a Ka-Bar knife and sheath in the weeks before the murders, and his ownership of a white Hyundai Elantra.
That vehicle matched the type of car investigators said was seen near the crime scene around the time of the murders before surveillance footage captured it speeding away.
Regarding the issues he has with the plea process, he reportedly told The Times, ‘the intention is for all of those questions to be investigated and answered appropriately in a trial setting.’
Kohberger admitted guilt during a July 2025 court hearing, and the judge later sentenced him after the plea deal was accepted.
In court, he was asked: “Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?”
“Yes,” Kohberger said, and remained silent thereafter.
At the time, reports said the plea arrangement allowed him to avoid the possibility of receiving the death penalty.
Under that agreement, he received a 10-year sentence on a burglary charge tied to entering the students’ residence, along with four consecutive life sentences for the first-degree murder counts.
He is now being held at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, around 20 minutes outside Boise.