Bryan Kohberger says lawyers pushed guilty plea despite innocence claim
Bryan Kohberger claims his defense team told him to plead guilty in the Idaho student murders even though he denied guilt.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
Bryan Kohberger is trying to withdraw his plea in the Idaho student murders, and his new filing puts the blame squarely on his own defense lawyers, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.
Kohberger pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the killings of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, TMZ reported. The four were fatally stabbed in 2022 inside a home in Moscow, Idaho.
At the time of the killings, all four victims were students at the University of Idaho. Kohberger was enrolled at Washington State University, according to TMZ.
Why does Bryan Kohberger want to withdraw his guilty plea?
In the petition filed Monday, Kohberger claims his attorneys advised him to plead guilty even though he says he denied being responsible, TMZ reported. The filing names attorneys Anne Taylor, Bicka Barlow and Jay Logsdon.
According to the documents obtained by TMZ, Kohberger alleges his lawyers insisted that his “plea need not be truthful, despite his vehement denial of actual guilt.”
The request comes after Kohberger admitted in open court in July 2025 that he killed the four students, TMZ reported. He entered guilty pleas as part of a deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty and resulted in life in prison without parole, according to the outlet.
What happened in the Idaho student murders case?
The case centers on the 2022 stabbing deaths of Goncalves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin inside a Moscow residence. The killings drew national attention because the victims were college students and the attack happened in a home near the University of Idaho.
Kohberger later appeared in court and pleaded guilty to all charges tied to the deaths, TMZ reported. His plea deal took a possible death sentence off the table and left him facing life behind bars without the chance of parole.
A guilty plea withdrawal request is an effort to undo a prior admission in court. In Kohberger’s case, the filing argues that the plea should be revisited because he claims his defense team pushed him toward admitting guilt while he maintained he was innocent, according to TMZ.
Have Kohberger’s attorneys responded?
TMZ reported that it contacted Taylor, Barlow and Logsdon for comment on Kohberger’s allegations. The outlet said it had not received a response from the attorneys.
The filing does not erase the guilty plea by itself. It asks the court to let Kohberger take it back, putting his claim about his lawyers’ advice at the center of the next legal fight in a case that already ended once with his admission in court.
This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.