Bryan Kohberger‘s new lawyer has suggested he has new information about the Idaho murders, while the convicted killer tries to withdraw his guilty pleas.
Kohberger pleaded guilty last year to fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20, during their Moscow home in November 2022.
He admitted to the crimes as part of a plea deal that spared him the death penalty.
But the now 31-year-old former criminology student has hired a new attorney, New York-based attorney Jason Goldman, who issued a statement to People on Monday saying there is more to the story than previously thought.
Goldman said he would “simply caution against the assumption that everything the public thinks it knows about this case tells the full story.”
He added that “serious questions remain as to how this matter came to its current conclusion and that a hearing will provide an appropriate forum to address these issues.”
Kohberger does in an attempt to withdraw his guilty pleasand has filed a motion to dismiss Ada County Magistrate Judge Steven Hippler, who ordered him to serve four life sentences for the murders.
He filed a petition last week seeking post-conviction relief that would allow him to withdraw his guilty plea and take the case back to trial, potentially putting the death penalty back on the table.
Bryan Kohberger’s lawyer has suggested he has new information about the Idaho murders as his client seeks to withdraw his guilty plea
Kohberger pleaded guilty last year to the murders of Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle at an off-campus apartment in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022.
“My true innocence is my truth, and the plea, based on false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn,” Kohberger said in a statement to The New York Times.
Kohberger filed a handwritten petition last month asking the court to withdraw his plea. He said his lawyers manipulated him into making the deal by promising him better prison conditions and making him fearful about the quality of life on death row.
The convicted killer offered only a few details in explanation, saying attorneys had failed to release or review evidence during plea discussions that could have helped his case.
Kohberger has now joined Goldman with a new lawyer, Greg Rauch.
Judge Hippler did not grant Kohberger a hearing on his claims that his guilty plea should be withdrawn. Instead, the judge has set a date for next June, in case he decides an evidentiary hearing is warranted.
Hippler told prosecutors and Kohberger’s attorney to “strictly” adhere to the Idaho Rules of Court Procedure, particularly the sections describing what evidence is admissible in court.
The judge also explained how both sides should object to evidence they believe is inadmissible.
Hippler said both sides should identify potential witnesses, including experts, by early February. He also set a status conference for next June.
Anyone who does not comply with the court’s order could be subject to sanctions, Hippler wrote.
Kohberger’s new attorney, Greg Rauch, has focused on Hippler (pictured), who sentenced Kohberger to life in prison without parole after Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders last year and disagreed with Hippler calling his client a “faceless coward.”
Goldman said the separate request to dismiss Hippler from the case was “not about attacking the Court, nor about asking for special treatment.”
“The point is to ensure that the serious constitutional issues now before the Court are heard in a forum whose impartiality and neutrality cannot be questioned,” Goldman said.
For this reason, he explained, “it would be an inherent conflict if the same presiding judge were to decide these issues.”
Rauch also previously argued that Hippler’s statements about Kohberger, including describing him as a “faceless coward,” are cause for concern.
“These statements are fundamentally different from the belief that Kohberger committed terrible crimes or deserved severe punishment,” Rauch said.
‘These are forward-looking judgments about his credibility. And credibility can now be central to these proceedings,” the motion said.
The attorney argued that it was not simply “one hard statement” that led to the dismissal request, also noting that Hippler was assigned to the post-conviction hearing despite presiding over the criminal trial.
“The question is not just whether Judge Hippler has formed a strong opinion about Kohberger,” Rauch said.
“The question is whether an informed and reasonable observer could question the impartiality of having the same judge.”
Kohberger accepted a plea deal last July, just before his trial was set to begin, and in turn escaped a possible death penalty for stabbing the students to death in their home in Moscow, Idaho (pictured)
Kohberger’s latest move came just days before a new three-part Netflix documentary series, The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare.
Kaylee’s mother, father and sister, Kristi, Steve and Alivea Goncalves; Xana’s father, Jeff Kernodle, and her little sister, Jazzmin Kernodle, were featured on the new show, along with friends of the victims and law enforcement officers involved in the case.
After hearing about Kohberger’s latest legal move, Alivea — who criticized her sister’s killer during victim impact statements in court last year — said she wants him to “stop breathing on this earth.”
Alivea, 29, told NBC’s Today earlier this month exactly how she feels as Kohberger tries to rewrite his past.
“The fact that someone behind bars still has the ability to revictimize their victims is something that is not so easy to get over,” she told the outlet.
“This will never be over for us until the defendant no longer breathes on this earth.”
The Goncalves family has spoken out since the day they found out they lost Kaylee and her friends.
Alivea previously unleashed fury on Kohberger in court after he accepted a plea deal.
“I’m not going to stand here and give you what you want.” I will not bring you tears. Instead, I will call you what you are: sociopath, psychopath, murderer,” she said in the face-to-face courtroom confrontation that was broadcast live.
“The truth is, you’re basic. You are a textbook example of insecurity disguised as control. You spent months preparing, and yet all you needed was my sister and a sheath,” she added. “You’re as stupid as they come. Stupid, stupid, weak, dirty.’
