Idaho Judge Schedules Post-Conviction Hearings for Bryan Kohberger Next Year
Judge Steven Hippler set a status conference and a later evidentiary hearing for Bryan Kohberger as part of his post-conviction relief petition.
Idaho District Judge Steven Hippler, who accepted Kohberger's guilty pleas in July 2025, ordered a status conference for early June 2027 and an evidentiary hearing two weeks later. The convicted killer, who admitted to stabbing four University of Idaho students—Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin—in a plea deal that avoided the death penalty, now seeks to withdraw those pleas. In a handwritten petition filed in July 2026, he asserted that his defense team misled him and failed to disclose exculpatory evidence, including untested hair found at the scene.
Prosecutors opposed the petition and asked the court to reject it without a hearing. The case remains under scrutiny as the attorney for Kohberger has not responded to inquiries.
Why it matters
The hearings could determine whether Kohberger's conviction will stand or be revisited, impacting the victims' families and public confidence in the justice system.
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