Bryan Kohberger’s family said they are supporting his fight to overturn his murder convictions so they can hear the “complete and unvarnished truth” at trial.
Kohberger, 31, a former doctoral student in criminal justice, is serving four consecutive life sentences after pleading guilty to killing four college students in an off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho in November 2022.
Though he admitted to the killings as part of the plea deal to take the death penalty off the table, Kohberger now maintains his innocence, claiming he was “convinced to falsely confess.”
“My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn,” he told the New York Times last month.
Kohberger’s family was careful to couch their support so as not to “compound the unimaginable grief the families have borne so courageously,” speaking of the loved ones of the victims.
“Rather, it comes from our family’s need to see that the complete and unvarnished truth is told. Like everyone, we seek answers to all the questions that have been raised, which can only be addressed through a proper trial, as opposed to an improper plea,” the family said.
Earlier this month, Kohberger filed a motion requesting a new judge oversee the process, arguing Judge Steven Hippler made biased comments during his sentencing last July.
As Hippler handed down the sentence, he remarked that Kohberger’s conduct erased “anything good or intrinsically human” about him, and called him “the worst of the worst.”
Kohberger also requested the case be moved back to Latah County, where the killings took place.
A hearing regarding his request for a new judge and location is scheduled for Oct. 15, while the hearing to address his motion for post-conviction relief is set for June 17, 2027.
