Bryan Kohberger moves to oust judge he calls biased in escalating bid to undo Idaho murders guilty plea

Bryan Kohberger's new attorney Gregory Rauch has filed motions to disqualify Judge Steven Hippler and move hearings out of Ada County, arguing that a judge who described Kohberger as a 'faceless coward' cannot be impartial. Rauch maintains that the unusual combination of Hippler's remarks, his earlier involvement in the criminal trial, and his assignment to the post-conviction case renders him unfit to preside. Judge Hippler has already scheduled a status conference for June 2027 and an evidentiary hearing in the same month. A successful plea withdrawal would see Kohberger's convictions vacated, allowing prosecutors to pursue the death penalty once more.

Kohberger, convicted of stabbing Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin at their Moscow home in 2022, pleaded guilty last year to dodge execution.

In a handwritten petition filed in July, Kohberger claimed his defence manipulated him and said: 'My actual innocence is my truth.'

Despite waiving his right to appeal as part of the plea deal, Kohberger is pursuing post-conviction relief — which can produce the same outcome as a successful appeal.