Bryan Kohberger Seeks to Withdraw Guilty Plea
Bryan Kohberger, accused in the quadruple murder of University of Idaho students, is seeking to withdraw his previous guilty plea. He claims ineffective assistance of counsel, coercion, disinformation, and false promises in his post-conviction petition, aiming for a new trial. Families of the victims, including Kaylee Goncalves’ mother, have expressed disappointment, while also acknowledging this legal move was expected.
Mackenzie Shirilla’s Legal Appeals Denied
Convicted for a double murder, Mackenzie Shirilla has encountered setbacks in her legal appeals. The Ohio Supreme Court recently refused to reconsider its decision not to hear her case. At 21, Shirilla serves two concurrent sentences of 15 years to life for the deaths of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan. Prosecutors accused her of intentionally driving her car into a building in 2022, resulting in their deaths.
Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy denied Shirilla’s motion for reconsideration, leaving a lower court’s dismissal of her challenge in place. Shirilla’s attorneys argued a calendar mistake, related to the 2024 leap year, led to a delayed filing of her post-conviction petition. They sought to argue ineffective assistance of counsel and claimed Shirilla’s medical condition, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), could have caused her to lose consciousness before the crash.
Petition Timing and Legal Proceedings
Under Ohio law, post-conviction petitions must generally be filed within 365 days after a trial transcript is filed in the court of appeals. Shirilla’s challenge, submitted on the 366th day, was deemed late. The court held that the statute refers to the ‘trial transcript’ and does not consider supplemental juvenile-hearing transcripts. Shirilla’s argument associating the filing timeline with misinterpretations of the leap year was also rejected.
Background of Shirilla’s Case
Shirilla’s case has garnered public interest, particularly following Netflix’s release of ‘The Crash.’ She was convicted in 2023 of multiple charges, including four counts of murder and aggravated vehicular homicide. Prosecutors argued her intent to crash the car to end a relationship led to the fatalities, with Flanagan being an unintended victim.
Evidence such as surveillance footage and vehicle data showed the car traveling nearly 100 mph without braking. Despite maintaining the crash was unintentional, her convictions were confirmed on direct appeal in 2024.