LATAH COUNTY, Idaho — Bryan Kohberger has been assigned a new public defender as he seeks to withdraw the guilty plea that sent him to prison for life for the killings of four University of Idaho students.
Court records show attorney Gregory Richard Rauch has been appointed to represent Kohberger in his post-conviction relief case. The appointment comes after Kohberger filed a petition alleging he received ineffective assistance of counsel and asking the court to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea.
In his petition, Kohberger claims his plea was not entered voluntarily, alleging his former attorneys made "unkept promises," threatened him and failed to disclose what he describes as exculpatory evidence. He also claims his attorneys exaggerated the conditions of Idaho's death row to persuade him to accept the plea.
READ MORE | Court docs: Kohberger seeks to undo guilty plea, citing threats and 'unkept promises'
Kohberger pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the deaths of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to remove the death penalty as a sentencing option, and Kohberger received four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
The appointment of new counsel is standard in post-conviction proceedings when a defendant alleges ineffective assistance by previous attorneys. Rauch will represent Kohberger as the case moves through the post-conviction process.
