Bryan Kohberger, accused of the quadruple murder of University of Idaho students, is trying to withdraw his guilty plea. His post-conviction petition claims ineffective legal assistance, coercion, misinformation, and false promises. Kohberger is seeking a new trial.
The families of the victims, including Kaylee Goncalves’ mother, expressed disappointment but were not surprised by this legal move.
“The court should investigate these allegations of coercion and ineffective assistance seriously,” Turvey told reporters.
A forensic expert who previously worked with Kohberger’s defense is questioning hair evidence found at the off-campus house where the murders took place. Despite this, an attorney for one victim’s family believes the evidence does not prove Kohberger’s innocence.
In July 2025, Kohberger pleaded guilty to murdering Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. He received four consecutive life sentences without parole, plus an additional ten years for burglary.
Kohberger argues he was coerced into the plea deal and his lawyers failed to communicate potentially exculpatory evidence. His petition references hair strands discovered during the investigation.
The hair was found near Ethan Chapin’s right hand in Kernodle’s bed, attached to the frame by dried blood. The bed was next to a wall.
Shortly before the sentencing, defense expert Brent Turvey examined the state’s evidence, noting that the hair strands, both light and dark brown, were still present on the bed frame. Turvey estimates more than two dozen visible strands, each around three to four inches long.
Turvey, a forensic scientist and partner at Forensic Solutions LLC, reviewed the evidence in person in Moscow, Idaho.
The FBI lab excluded Kohberger as the source of these hairs, according to Turvey. “This is not his hair,” he told reporters.
The identity of the strands remains unclear, and Fox News Digital has not verified the complete laboratory records.
A DNA expert retained by Kohberger’s defense tested at least one hair sample found in Chapin’s hand and found it matched Chapin. It is unknown if this sample is the same as Turvey described.
The hairs were first publicly noted in Christopher Whitcomb’s book “Broken Plea,” which Kohberger mentioned in a New York Times interview related to his petition.
Turvey asserted that Kohberger’s filing raises broad questions beyond the hair evidence, suggesting the court needs to scrutinize claims of coercion and poor legal counsel.
Anne Taylor and her legal team need to respond to serious questions regarding these allegations, according to Turvey.
Taylor and co-counsel previously accused Turvey of breaching a confidentiality agreement, which he denied, while Taylor has not commented publicly.
Shanon Gray, an attorney for victim Kaylee Goncalves’ family, downplayed the evidence’s importance. “If he’s talking about the hairs, that’s not exculpatory evidence,” Gray stated, indicating the defense knew about it.
The FBI chose not to comment on the situation. Kohberger has not responded to communication from media outlets regarding these claims.