Bryan Kohberger’s family are supporting his plan to challenge his conviction for murdering four University of Idaho students.
‘Our full support of Bryan’s decision to pursue post-conviction relief does not come from a place of disregard,’ the Kohberger family said to ABC News.
‘Rather, it comes from our family’s need to see that the complete and unvarnished truth is told. Like everyone, we seek answers to all the questions that have been raised, which can only be addressed through a proper trial, as opposed to an improper plea.’
The convicted killer, 31, will enter a courtroom again next June after he filed for post-conviction relief in Ada County District Court in July, claiming that he only accepted his plea deal because he was ‘advised to lie’ by his legal counsel.
‘My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn,’ Kohberger said in a statement to the New York Times in August.
Kohberger is also seeking to have a new judge oversee the process, claiming that Judge Steven Hippler showed bias during his sentencing.
Additionally, the killer requested that his case be moved back to Latah County, where the killings took place.
His family told the outlet that they did not want their support for their son ‘to compound the unimaginable grief the families have borne so courageously.’
Bryan Kohberger’s family announced that they are supporting his challenge to withdraw his guilty plea for murdering four University of Idaho students
He pleaded guilty to killing Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, and Xana Kernodle in an off-campus apartment in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022
‘As a family, we continue to carry the victims, their families, and the entire Moscow community in our hearts and daily prayer,’ they added. ‘We continue to love and support Bryan and we continue to respect the memory of those lost. We seek to find justice and a conclusive resolution through the legal process.’
Kohberger pleaded guilty to killing Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, and Xana Kernodle in an off-campus apartment in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022.
He accepted a plea deal last July, just before his trial was set to begin, and in turn, escaped a potential death penalty for callously stabbing them all to death.
Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive life terms behind bars, and as part of his agreement, waived his right to appeal.
