Bryan Kohberger Update (Sept. 2026): His Bid to Undo the Guilty Plea Now Has a June 2027 Hearing Date
| Date | What happened / happens |
|---|---|
| July 2, 2025 | Pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one burglary count |
| July 2025 | Sentenced to four consecutive life terms without parole, plus 10 years |
| July 27, 2026 | Filed a petition for post-conviction relief in Ada County District Court, on his own |
| Aug. 26, 2026 | Judge Steven Hippler declined to toss the petition on paper and set hearings |
| June 3, 2027 | Status conference |
| June 17, 2027 | Evidentiary hearing on whether the plea can be withdrawn |
The short answer to the question people are searching this month: nothing happens in this case until next summer. The judge set the dates in late August and they are nine months out.
What is Bryan Kohberger actually asking for?
He wants his guilty plea withdrawn and a trial. His petition, filed July 27, claims his lawyers gave him ineffective representation and that he was, in his words, convinced to falsely confess.
He also alleges the defense team never told him about hair recovered at the scene that was not his and was never DNA tested. He told The New York Times that "my actual innocence is my truth."
He is representing himself on the petition. His former lawyers — Anne Taylor, Elisa Massoth and Bicka Barlow — have not responded publicly to the accusations.
Didn't he give up the right to appeal?
That is the state's whole argument. Prosecutors asked Hippler to dismiss the petition without any hearing, pointing to the plea deal in which Kohberger waived all rights to appeal any and all issues.
Hippler did not agree to end it there. Granting a hearing is not a ruling on the merits — it means the claims get tested with witnesses before he decides.
A waiver in a plea deal does not automatically defeat a claim that the plea itself was induced by bad advice. That is the narrow opening he is pushing on.
What did he plead guilty to?
The Nov. 13, 2022 killings of four University of Idaho students at an off-campus house in Moscow: Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
He took the deal weeks before jury selection, in exchange for the state dropping its pursuit of the death penalty. Sentencing followed the same month.
How have the families responded?
Bluntly, in the Goncalves family's case. Relatives compared the filing to "the mosquito you just can't seem to swat" — a line that captured the exhaustion of watching a closed case reopen on paper.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador said his office stands ready to do whatever is necessary to see the sentence carried out.
👈 Worth keeping straight: he is serving the sentence right now. A pending petition does not pause it.
Where is he serving the sentence?
In Idaho Department of Correction custody, under the four consecutive life terms handed down last summer. There is no parole eligibility attached to them.
If the June 2027 hearing goes his way, the plea comes off and the murder charges are live again. If it does not, the sentence simply continues.
Has Dateline covered the case?
Yes, at length. Dateline aired a two-hour special, "The Terrible Night on King Road," built on the evidence file released after the plea — though an Idaho State Police investigator later told the Idaho Statesman the broadcast contained inaccuracies.
Any new special on the three newsmagazines lands in our weekly rundown, and the air times are in the viewing guide. Streaming windows for Peacock and Hulu are tracked over at Streaming On Air.
FAQ
Is Bryan Kohberger getting a new trial? Not as things stand. He has a hearing scheduled for June 17, 2027 on whether his plea can be withdrawn.
Can he still be executed? No. Capital punishment came off the table as the condition of the plea.
Does he have a lawyer? He filed the petition himself; a court-appointed attorney has since been involved in the post-conviction proceedings.
More case files
Post-conviction fights are the theme of this stretch: Alex Murdaugh actually won his and has a 2027 retrial date, Richard Allen's Delphi appeal is argued this month, and Lori Vallow Daybell is up in November. See the rest in our case files.
Sources
- NBC News — Kohberger files petition to challenge his guilty plea (July 27, 2026)
- CNN — Judge schedules two hearings next June (Aug. 26, 2026)
- Fox News — Kohberger granted evidentiary hearing (Aug. 26, 2026)
- ABC News — Kohberger seeks to withdraw guilty plea
- KING 5 — Dateline special on the Idaho case
Listings data via TVmaze.
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