Netflix’s three-part documentary The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare premiered on July 29. The documentary has brought back focus to Bryan Kohberger, the former criminology PhD student convicted of murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022.
The documentary arrives as Kohberger seeks to undo his guilty plea, claiming he is innocent. In an interview with the New York Times, he said he had filed a petition seeking to withdraw his guilty plea and obtain a trial.
Also read: The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare: Netflix documentary to explore brutal student killings; release date & more
Where is Bryan Kohberger now?
Kohberger originally pleaded guilty weeks before his trial was set to begin in June 2025 to avoid a possible death sentence. The trial was originally set to begin in August 2025.
During the plea hearing, the judge asked whether he was pleading guilty because he was guilty. Kohberger answered, “Yes.”
Kohberger, 31, is currently incarcerated at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution south of Boise. He is serving four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty in July 2025 to the murders of Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen.
The prison houses Idaho’s highest-security inmates, and Kohberger is expected to remain there unless his post-conviction challenge succeeds.
Also read: Bryan Kohberger update: Why does the Idaho murders convict want to withdraw his guilty plea? Victims’ families react
Kohberger claims innocence despite guilty plea
Speaking to The New York Times, Kohberger insisted he should never have pleaded guilty.
“My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn,” he said in a written statement provided to the outlet.
During a prison phone call, he added that “a lot went wrong in those plea discussions” and maintained he has an “absolute claim of innocence.” He declined to discuss specific evidence supporting his claim. He said that those issues should instead be addressed in court.
Court records show Kohberger filed the petition himself.
According to the NYT, he stated that his attorneys provided ineffective legal representation and failed to disclose potentially exculpatory evidence. He also claimed that he accepted the plea after receiving misleading information about prison conditions and visitation.
Netflix documentary questions Kohberger’s motive
The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare retraces the investigation that led to Kohberger’s arrest.
Kohberger’s motivation for targeting these four college students is still unknown because he entered a guilty plea one month before his planned trial.
Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger said, “Ultimately we never have been able to answer that question that everybody wants answered: ‘Why?’” He continued, “We don’t know, ‘Why these four?’ We don’t know, ‘Why this house?’ I don’t think we’ll ever know.”
The documentary also examines Kohberger’s background as a criminology student at Washington State University. The people featured in the documentary suggested that Kohberger might have studied criminology to commit the ideal crime.
Former classmates describe him as socially isolated, while investigators revisit his Reddit questionnaire asking convicted criminals about their thoughts on how they approached their victims.
Authorities were informed by a number of female students that he was uncomfortable. In one case, a female student in the documentary said that he made her feel uncomfortable by following her to her car and speaking to her aggressively.
The case continues to divide the victims’ families. Kaylee Goncalves’ family criticised Kohberger’s latest filing, telling The New York Times he was like a “mosquito you just can’t seem to swat.”