Convicted Idaho College Killer Wants to Take Back Guilty Plea Due to ‘False Promises’ During Trial

Photo by Monroe County Correctional Facility

Bryan Kohberger, the criminology student convicted of brutally murdering four University of Idaho students last year, wants to take back his guilty plea and sit for a new trial, The New York Times reported today.

Kohberger is arguing his original plea deal was made under misleading circumstances. “My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn,” he said in a statement to the Times. He also told the newspaper he has an “absolute claim of innocence.”

The interview also marked Kohberger’s first public statement since he was convicted. “It is rare for defendants to win post-conviction challenges, which often revolve around claims of newly discovered evidence or ineffective assistance of counsel,” The Times noted.

Kohberger was arrested in connection with the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, in December 2022. The four were found dead that November.

The family members of the slain students attended Kohberger’s trial. Alivea Goncalves, the sister of Kaylee, addressed Kohberger in a statement during the proceedings, “I’m not here today to speak in grief, I’m here to speak in truth. because the truth is, my sister Kaylee and her best friend Maddie were not yours to take. They were not yours to study, to stalk or to silence. The were two pieces of a whole, the perfect yin and yang. They are everything you could never be: loved, accepted, vibrant, accomplished brave, and powerful.”

“I won’t stand here and give you what you want. I won’t offer you two years or trembling. Disappointments like you thrive on pain, fear, and the illusion of power. I won’t feed your beast. Instead, I’ll call you what you are: sociopath, psychopath, murderer,” she continued.

In January 2023, the unsealed search warrant for the case revealed authorities found blood on “a number” of Kohberger’s possessions.

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