Bryan Kohberger waived his appeal rights but plans on pursuing post-conviction relief: sources

The admitted murderer Bryan Kohberger plans to file for post-conviction relief after pleading guilty to killing four University of Idaho students in a 4 a.m. home invasion attack, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Kohberger plans to argue that he had bad counsel.

The New York Times was first to report this story after Kohberger called a reporter directly and claimed that he has an "absolute claim of innocence" in his first public remarks outside the courtroom.

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"My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn," he told the outlet.

In a writing message, he claimed that "justice was not served" and claiming that it was "circumnavigated by a broken plea."

"Broken Plea" is the title of a recent book about the case that shed new light on what the defense may have looked like at trial — and his use of the term surprised author Chris Whitcomb, who says he had never spoken to Kohberger.

"He would have to show ‘manifest injustice,’" said Joshua Ritter, a California-based defense attorney and Fox News contributor. "Essentially his lawyers lied to him."

One hypothesis floated in Whitcomb's book is that Kohberger may not have fully understood or meaningfully participated in the decision to plead guilty.

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Kohberger is serving four consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole plus another 10 years for the Nov. 13, 2022 murders of Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves after pleading guilty in July 2025.

As part of the plea deal, he waived his right to an appeal.

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