EXCLUSIVE: Bryan Kohberger Claims He Was 'Coerced' Into False Guilty Plea After Being Sentenced to Life
Bryan Kohberger is speaking from behind bars with an explosive new claim.
July 28 2026, Published 5:00 p.m. ET
Bryan Kohberger is attempting to undo the guilty plea that landed him behind bars for life, claiming in newly filed court documents that he was pressured into admitting to the murders of four University of Idaho students, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Radar has exclusively obtained Kohberger's handwritten petition for post-conviction relief, filed Monday, July 27, in Ada County, Idaho, in which the convicted killer asks a judge to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea after being sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 10 years for felony burglary.
Bryan Kohberger's Handwritten Petition
Kohberger’s handwritten post-conviction court filing.
In the filing, Kohberger claims his attorneys provided ineffective assistance during the criminal proceedings and alleges his plea was not knowingly or voluntarily entered.
Instead, the 31-year-old alleges he was induced into accepting the deal through "threats," "coercion," false promises and the withholding of what he describes as exculpatory evidence.
The most explosive allegations appear in Kohberger’s affidavit, where he claims he was convinced to falsely confess to the crimes through "coercion, disinformation, false promises, and the withholding of exculpatory discovery."
Bryan Kohberger's Legal Team Failed to Submit Key Evidence?
Kohberger claims his attorneys failed to disclose evidence he believes could have helped his defense.
Among the allegations, Kohberger claims his attorneys failed to disclose evidence he believes could have helped his defense, including what he described as unknown hairs allegedly recovered from victim Ethan Chapin's hand.
He further alleges his legal team convinced him that maintaining his innocence was not an important factor when deciding whether to accept the plea agreement.
Kohberger also accuses his attorneys of misrepresenting Idaho's death penalty process, claiming he was led to believe execution was imminent if he rejected the plea offer.
This is Kohberger's first major attempt to challenge his conviction after pleading guilty to the University of Idaho deaths.
According to the filing, he alleges counsel made false promises about what a life-without-parole sentence would actually look like and claims he was persuaded to enter what he now describes as a false guilty plea.
As part of the petition, Kohberger is asking the court to permit him to withdraw the plea that ended one of the nation's most closely watched murder cases.
The filing marks Kohberger's first major attempt to challenge his conviction after pleading guilty to the November 2022 stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Chapin.
Bryan Kohberger Claims He 'Lacks Legal Training'
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The court has not ruled on Kohberger's requests.
The plea agreement spared Kohberger from a potential death sentence in exchange for admitting guilt to the four murders and burglary charge. In a separate filing obtained by Radar, Kohberger also requested that the court appoint an attorney to represent him during the post-conviction proceedings.
He told the court he is indigent, incarcerated at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, and lacks the legal training necessary to adequately represent himself.
The court has not ruled on Kohberger's requests, and the allegations contained in his petition represent claims made by the convicted killer that have yet to be tested in court.
Kohberger's former attorneys have not responded in the filings to the allegations raised in the newly submitted petition.
