Bryan Kohberger and his legal team received a new court date as the convicted killer continues efforts to withdraw the guilty plea that led to his four consecutive life sentences for the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students.

Kohberger's defense and prosecutors are scheduled to return to the Ada County Courthouse on October 15 to discuss the motion to disqualify Judge Steven Hippler from the post-conviction proceedings. The hearing comes weeks after Hippler set a status conference for June 3, 2027, and an evidentiary hearing for June 17, 2027, in response to Kohberger's petition for post-conviction relief.

Kohberger, 31, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the November 2022 stabbings of Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Kaylee Goncalves inside an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho. He received four life sentences without parole plus an additional 10 years for burglary as part of the plea agreement, which included a waiver of his right to appeal.

In a handwritten affidavit filed this summer, Kohberger claimed his former attorneys misled him and his family about evidence in the case and made threats and false promises regarding prison conditions to induce the plea. He has been appointed new counsel and seeks to withdraw the plea, arguing it was not entered knowingly or voluntarily.

The defense has also moved to transfer the case from Ada County to Latah County, citing concerns over media attention and potential bias. Prosecutors have opposed the petition and asked the court to dismiss it without a hearing.

Kohberger was a Ph.D. student in criminology at Washington State University at the time of the murders. The case drew national attention due to the brutality of the attacks and the lengthy investigation that led to his arrest in December 2022.