Judge schedules two court hearings next June in Bryan Kohberger’s petition to take back guilty plea

By Emma Tucker, CNN

(CNN) — A pair of court hearings have been scheduled for next June as Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, attempts to take back his guilty plea, court records show.

Kohberger filed a petition to reopen the case late last month, blaming his plea on “threats,” “false promises” and wrong information, according to his post-conviction relief form.

CNN is working to contact the four families of the victims for comment. Kohberger’s attorney declined to provide a statement when reached by CNN.

Judge Steven Hippler, who heard Kohberger’s guilty plea in court last year, scheduled a status conference for June 3, 2027, and an evidentiary hearing two weeks later as part of a procedural step while he considers the petition, records show.

After initially pleading not guilty, Kohberger agreed to a plea deal to avoid the death penalty and was convicted last July, during which he publicly — and for the first time — admitted to fatally stabbing Ethan Chapin, 20; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Madison Mogen, 21, on November 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho.

“Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?” Judge Hippler asked at the time. “Yes,” Kohberger replied. He was then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

But a year later, Kohberger is claiming his defense team did not disclose or review exculpatory evidence and cites “ineffective assistance of counsel during criminal proceedings” in his motion.

He also claims in his handwritten filing that he was given a “gross misrepresentation” of what a life sentence and death row in Idaho would look like.

Kohberger waived the right to appeal as part of his plea, but that does not preclude him from filing a new case challenging the validity of his plea agreement.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Cindy Von Quednow contributed to this report.