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Bryan Kohberger petitions to withdraw 2025 murder plea

7/27/2026

47 11 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Bryan Kohberger filed a relief petition in Ada County District Court to withdraw his guilty plea.
He pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four murders and a burglary, receiving four life sentences and a 10-year term.
The plea removed death penalty.
Kohberger told The New York Times his “innocence is my truth,” saying the plea relied on false promises.
Judge Steven Hippler sentenced him on July 23, 2025 while attorney Anne Taylor did not comment.

History

Historical Context

Timothy McVeigh’s 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people and spurred the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, established a federal-led prosecution model for mass-killings. Decades later, the FBI’s role in that case is cited as precedent as Bryan Kohberger’s plea withdrawal in the University of Idaho murders faces similar federal-court scrutiny.

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Story summary

Bryan Kohberger filed a relief petition in Ada County District Court to withdraw his guilty plea.
He pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four murders and a burglary, receiving four life sentences and a 10-year term.
The plea removed death penalty.
Kohberger told The New York Times his “innocence is my truth,” saying the plea relied on false promises.
Judge Steven Hippler sentenced him on July 23, 2025 while attorney Anne Taylor did not comment.

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