Bryan Kohberger Wants to Boot Judge Off His Murder Case After 'Faceless Coward' Jab

Bryan Kohberger wants to get the judge on his quadruple murder conviction booted off the case -- because he says the justice disqualified himself by calling him a "faceless coward."

Judge Steven Hippler presided over Kohberger's 2025 trial in which Bryan pleaded guilty to killing 4 University of Idaho students and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

At his sentencing, Kohberger admitted to killing Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin inside their home in 2022, but he never gave a motive for the murders. Judge Hippler called Kohberger a "faceless coward" before sentencing him under a plea deal.

Then, in July 2026, Kohberger filed a petition to reopen his case, saying he only pled guilty because of “threats,” “false promises” and bad information, according to a post-relief conviction form.

Kohberger now wants to take back his guilty plea and plead not guilty but he first has to convince Judge Hippler, who's also presiding over his post-release petition, for now.

Kohberger's new lawyer, Idaho-based Greg Rausch, filed a motion to disqualify Hippler for making the "faceless coward" remark, while raising other constitutional issues.

Another Kohberger attorney, Manhattan-based Jason Goldman, issued a statement to TMZ, saying ... "The motion speaks for itself. This is not about attacking the Court nor asking for special treatment. It is about ensuring that the serious constitutional questions now before the Court are heard in a forum whose impartiality and neutrality cannot be questioned. It would be an inherent conflict for the same presiding Judge to decide these very issues."

Goldman went on ... "The circumstances surrounding Bryan's plea -- and what occurred in the critical days leading up to it -- deserve careful, independent judicial scrutiny. Some of those circumstances are already part of the public record. Others are not."