A convicted murderer who butchered four Idaho college students in their beds is now claiming innocence from his prison cell, and The New York Times just handed him a megaphone.
Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty in 2025 to the November 2022 killings of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. He admitted it in open court, multiple times, and waived his right to appeal in exchange for four consecutive life sentences instead of death by firing squad. Now, a year later, he wants it all undone.
This is what a broken justice system looks like: a manipulative killer working the refs from prison while the families of his victims are forced to relive the nightmare.
According to the New York Post, Kohberger now claims he was duped into his guilty plea because of "false promises and blatant disinformation." He insisted to the Times on an "absolute claim of innocence" during a Sunday night phone call. Fox News confirmed Kohberger plans to file for post-conviction relief, arguing he had bad counsel.
The Times framed Kohberger's gambit as a quest to "obtain a trial" and "abandon his guilty plea." The Post noted that a mountain of evidence ties Kohberger to the murders. Fox called him what he is: "the admitted murderer." The Times, meanwhile, let him decline to discuss any evidence or specifics — and still gave him the headline.
Here are the facts Kohberger confirmed under oath, on the record, when it mattered: He was asked multiple times during his plea hearing whether he admitted to the crimes. He said yes. He agreed to waive his right to appeal. He took the deal to save his own life.
Now he calls it "false promises." The promise was simple: plead guilty, avoid the firing squad. That is not disinformation. That is a consequence.
Kohberger is not a whistleblower. He is a criminology student who butchered four people at 4 a.m. and then used his knowledge of the system to game a plea. Now he is gaming it again, and the press is playing along.
Post-conviction relief claims based on ineffective counsel are common. They are also routinely denied when, as here, the defendant admitted guilt on the record. The courts should swat this down swiftly. The media should stop treating a convicted killer's self-serving statements as news.
The four victims deserve finality. Their families deserve peace. Instead they get a front-page spectacle, courtesy of a system that still cannot close the book on a confessed killer.
