The Idaho Murders | The Case Against Bryan Kohberger

Bryan Kohberger Handed His Only Hope To Someone Else

The Idaho Murders | The Case Against Bryan Kohberger

Show Notes

Bryan Kohberger's petition to withdraw his guilty plea in the University of Idaho murders is very likely going nowhere, and understanding why means starting in 1967. That is the year Idaho added section 19-4901 to its books. It is the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act, and it guarantees a convicted person the right to come back at a conviction one more time in a separate civil case, with new evidence, at public expense. It was sitting right there the entire time prosecutors were explaining to four grieving families what a plea agreement would mean. This episode covers why in detail. The manifest injustice standard. The sworn colloquy where he told the court he was guilty. The two different pieces of hair evidence being reported as one. And the single narrow path to a new trial, which depends entirely on what his former attorney is willing to swear to. But there is a larger question underneath the filing, and it isn't about him. The families of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin gave up a trial. No jury. No witnesses. No state made to prove a single element out loud in front of the world. They surrendered all of it in exchange for one thing, and that one thing was finality. Nobody involved in that negotiation had the standing to promise it. Not the prosecutor. Not the judge. Not the document all of them signed. Tony also covers the detail that reframes the plea itself: prosecutors filed a witness list naming a hundred and eighty people who could help convict him, and newly unsealed records show a name on it that no one expected. Days later, he stopped fighting — and now offers the very same people as proof he was forced.

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Disclaimer

This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

Hashtags (10)

#IdahoStudentMurders #BryanKohberger #KohbergerCase #TrueCrime #PostConvictionRelief #UniversityOfIdaho #KohbergerPlea #MoscowIdaho #IdahoFour #JusticeSystem

More from The Idaho Murders | The Case Against Bryan Kohberger

Oct 18, 2026

Bryan Kohberger named his former lawyers in his attempt to undo the guilty plea that spared him the death penalty. He claims Anne Taylor’s team misled him about prison conditions and withheld evidence he believes would have changed his decision. If a hearing eventually happens, those claims could be tested against records of the plea discussions. Kohberger alleges ineffective assistance from Taylor, Elisa Massoth and Bicka Barlow. Lawyers are generally required to protect private client communications. A claim that hinges on what counsel did or said can create a limited exception, but the court would decide what information is relevant and what can be disclosed. It is not a blanket release of years of conversations. At his July 2, 2025 plea hearing, Kohberger told Judge Steven Hippler he was guilty. Prosecutor Bill Thompson summarized DNA evidence involving a knife sheath, records of a Ka-Bar knife purchase, cell-phone connections and a white Hyundai Elantra shown on surveillance. Kohberger’s attorneys would have been able to contest the state’s interpretation at trial. Instead, the plea ended that trial and removed the death penalty under the agreement. Former prosecutor and defense attorney Eric Faddis joins Tony Brueski to explore whether a former attorney might have to explain what happened behind closed doors, what a sworn plea admission proves and what Kohberger risks by challenging the bargain he accepted. The October 14 court order canceled future hearings while the petition and prosecution’s effort to dismiss it remain unresolved. For Kohberger, reopening the case would require more than a new argument about the evidence. Listen Anywhere You Get Podcasts: https://pod.link/1655749292 Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod?sub_confirmation=1 Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #BryanKohberger #AnneTaylor #HiddenKillers #IdahoStudentMurders #Kohberger #EricFaddis #PostConviction #PleaDeal #IdahoMurders #TrueCrime

Oct 18, 2026

Bryan Kohberger wants another chance to challenge the guilty plea that sent him to prison for life. His new lawyer also wants the judge who took that plea off the case. On October 14, 2026, Judge Steven Hippler removed the October 15 recusal hearing from the schedule, along with the June 2027 dates set aside for a status conference and possible hearing on Kohberger's claims. Kohberger pleaded guilty in July 2025 to killing Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. He told Hippler he was guilty and later received four consecutive life sentences. The post-conviction petition he filed in 2026 alleges his former attorneys provided ineffective assistance and that the plea was not freely made. Prosecutors dispute his claims and seek dismissal without a hearing. Greg Rauch, the attorney representing him in the challenge, argues Hippler's own words are a problem. At sentencing, the judge sharply condemned Kohberger, and Rauch says those remarks could impair an objective assessment of Kohberger's credibility. He also points to a refused request for more time shortly before the plea. His motion seeks disqualification and a transfer of the proceedings back to Latah County. Hippler's new calendar does not decide the request to remove him. It gives Kohberger until January 13, 2027, to file an amended petition and sets a July 7 deadline for evidence gathering. Further hearing dates are dependent on what happens with the unresolved motions. Tony Brueski and attorney Eric Faddis examine what the cancellation actually changes. If prosecutors succeed in having the petition dismissed, the fight could end without an evidence hearing. If it proceeds, the questions surrounding Kohberger's sworn admission and the judge's impartiality may return to the courtroom, with the victims' families drawn through another round. Listen Anywhere You Get Podcasts: https://pod.link/1655749292 Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod?sub_confirmation=1 Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #BryanKohberger #JudgeHippler #Kohberger #IdahoFour #EricFaddis #GregRauch #IdahoStudentMurders #PleaWithdrawal #PostConviction #TrueCrime

Oct 17, 2026

Kohberger said he was guilty. His DNA was on the knife sheath. His phone pinged the house over twenty times. His alibi has no witness. Now he wants his plea back, his judge wiped the calendar, and the attorney he accused has his sworn answers on tape. Meanwhile, Sandra Birchmore sent six hundred texts the day she died. Farwell's DNA is on the weapon. He walked in wearing a mask and left twenty-nine minutes later. She told eighty people about her baby and the defense says she ended her own life. Eric Faddis covers all of it with Tony across four segments — the vanished hearings, the evidence wall, the Anne Taylor backfire, and whether the Farwell case is open and shut. DNA, surveillance, and forty thousand recovered texts are in front of a jury. Listen Anywhere You Get Podcasts: https://pod.link/1655749292 Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod?sub_confirmation=1 Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #BryanKohberger #SandraBirchmore #MatthewFarwell #Kohberger #FarwellTrial #HiddenKillers #EricFaddis #IdahoMurders #DNAEvidence #TrueCrime

Oct 16, 2026

Kohberger's post-conviction petition accuses Anne Taylor of hiding exculpatory evidence, lying about what death row looks like, and telling him the plea didn't need to be truthful. He named Taylor, Elisa Massoth, and Bicka Barlow. Filing an ineffective assistance claim waived attorney-client privilege — every protected conversation from three years of defense work is now exposed. Taylor's team wrote a sealed memo before the plea warning the judge that Kohberger had difficulty comprehending adverse rulings. Hippler denied the continuance. Kohberger pleaded guilty weeks later. If Taylor testifies at an evidentiary hearing, she walks in with the transcript where Kohberger told the judge he understood the agreement, was satisfied with his attorneys, and was pleading guilty because he is guilty. Eric Faddis, defense attorney and former prosecutor, joins Tony to break down how this accusation could expose Kohberger's defense strategy and whether the families could see something worse than a new trial. Listen Anywhere You Get Podcasts: https://pod.link/1655749292 Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod?sub_confirmation=1 Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #BryanKohberger #Kohberger #AnneTaylor #HiddenKillers #IdahoMurders #PostConviction #IneffectiveCounsel #PleaDeal #EricFaddis #TrueCrime

Oct 16, 2026

Kohberger's alibi was that he was out driving alone that night, looking at the moon and the stars. No corroborating witness. His phone was off during the killing window. Against him: DNA on the knife sheath, over twenty phone pings near the house, surveillance footage, and the Ka-Bar knife bought with a gift card. His car was meticulously cleaned. A roommate saw him inside the home. He took the plea to avoid the death penalty. Vacating it puts death back on the table — prosecutors already filed intent to seek it. Eric Faddis joins Tony to break down what defense Kohberger could actually mount and what a jury does with an alibi contradicted by cell data. Has the fight itself become the point for a man filing handwritten petitions from a maximum-security cell? Listen Anywhere You Get Podcasts: https://pod.link/1655749292 Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod?sub_confirmation=1 Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #BryanKohberger #Kohberger #HiddenKillers #IdahoMurders #MoscowIdaho #KaBar #DNAEvidence #DeathPenalty #EricFaddis #TrueCrime

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