Prosecutors push back on Bryan Kohberger plea bid in Idaho student murders
Idaho prosecutors urge a judge to reject murder suspect Bryan Kohberger’s attempt to withdraw his guilty plea, calling the defense’s arguments a fishing expedition. Former federal prosecutor Jonathan Fahey joins to break down the latest legal maneuvers, the strength of the state’s case and what lies ahead for the victims’ families in the high-profile trial.
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FIRST ON FOX: Bryan Kohberger’s former attorneys told an Idaho judge before his plea deal that their client struggled to “rationally understand” what was unfolding in court and to make “consequential decisions” concerning his defense, including whether to testify in his own defense or to accept a plea deal, according to newly unsealed court filings.
“In the May 20 [2025] ex parte supplement, counsel advised the Court that Kohberger was having difficulty comprehending adverse rulings and discerning their effect upon the case as a whole,” the newly published memo reads. “Counsel represented that, despite the accumulation of significant rulings concerning the death penalty, suppression issues, and motions in limine, Kohberger was having difficulty meaningfully incorporating those developments into a rational assessment of the case and its potential outcomes.”
Kohberger, a 31-year-old former criminology Ph.D. student, now has a new attorney, Greg Rauch. In the memo, which was filed under seal in support of a prior motion to disqualify the judge, Rauch described his goal as not to show that Kohberger was incompetent, but to bolster his argument that the judge may be biased.
“Before June 26, [2025,] the Court knew that counsel was asking for additional time not only to review evidence and continue investigation, but also to investigate Kohberger’s ability to rationally understand and make consequential decisions and to obtain expert assistance in communicating with him about whether to resolve the case short of trial,” Rauch wrote to the court in a document that remained sealed for nearly a month.
BRYAN KOHBERGER’S BID TO OUST JUDGE AND UNDO GUILTY PLEA MOVES FORWARD WITH NEW COURT DATE SET
Bryan Kohberger is seen in the Ada County Courthouse after his sentencing hearing, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho, for brutally stabbing four University of Idaho students to death nearly three years earlier. (AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool)
Kohberger’s original defense team sought more time for an inquiry into his ability to understand the proceedings but “expressly denied” that he was incompetent.
Judge Steven Hippler on Tuesday ordered the Aug. 27 memo to be unsealed after rejecting Kohberger’s reasoning for keeping the document withheld from the public.
“The Court disagrees that the information contained in the Supplemental Memorandum is intimate, protected or will result in harm if disclosed,” Hippler wrote. “It simply describes in very general terms trial counsel’s concerns about Petitioner’s difficulty in comprehending adverse rulings and understanding their effect on the outcome of the case.”
IDAHO JUDGE GRANTS BRYAN KOHBERGER TWO HEARINGS NEXT YEAR AS ADMITTED KILLER SEEKS TO WITHDRAW GUILTY PLEA
Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
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Kohberger’s former defense team, led by Anne Taylor, had sought more time for discovery as his trial approached last year. According to the unsealed filing, they were also quietly seeking help for Kohberger to understand the proceedings.
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“The Court thereafter denied the requested additional time,” Rauch wrote. “The sealed June 26 Order rejected the need for further investigation and concluded overall that Kohberger had not demonstrated good cause for a continuance or prejudice from proceeding to trial as scheduled.”
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Judge Steven Hippler speaks at the sentencing hearing of Bryan Kohberger at the Ada County Courthouse Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. (Kyle Green/AP Photo, Pool)
BRYAN KOHBERGER’S 2027 HEARING IS NOT GUARANTEED AS IDAHO SEEKS QUICK DISMISSAL
In under a week, Kohberger pleaded guilty to all charges in the murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
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He is now trying to undo the plea with a petition for post-conviction relief.
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University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were killed in a November 2022 attack at an off-campus house on King Road in Moscow, Idaho. (Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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“That sequence does not establish that the pleas were constitutionally invalid,” Rauch wrote. “But it does identify a factual issue that the PCR court may now have to resolve: whether trial counsel had sufficient time and assistance to ensure that Kohberger rationally understood the circumstances confronting him and could meaningfully participate in the decision to resolve the case short of trial — the very decision counsel had specifically identified to Judge Hippler as requiring continued expert assistance before the continuance was denied.”
BRYAN KOHBERGER’S NEW LAWYER SAYS KEY QUESTIONS MAY SOON GET ANSWERS IN COURT
Bryan Kohberger arrives at Monroe County Courthouse in Pennsylvania in advance of his extradition hearing. After spending more than two years in custody awaiting trial, he pleaded guilty to the deaths of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin at a hearing in Boise on July 2, 2025. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
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According to Rauch, within days of Kohberger’s guilty plea, his former lawyers “expressly advised” the court of their questions about this ability to rationally make the decision to plead guilty.
Six days after the Court denied additional time, that decision was made.
This is a breaking news story. Stick with Fox News Digital for updates.
