Bryan Kohberger, who pleaded guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students in November 2022, has been appointed a new attorney after asking the court for post-conviction relief in an attempt to withdraw his guilty plea. A judge approved the request roughly a year after Kohberger, 30, admitted to the killings, opening a legal process that experts say faces a very high bar for success.

Kohberger filed the petition himself before the court appointed attorney Greg Rau to represent him going forward. Legal analysts have described overturning a guilty plea in this case as a "monumental uphill battle", while the victims' families have spoken of the pain of having the case reopened and relived.