Convicted killer Bryan Kohberger has revitalized his fan base with his surprising attempt to reverse his guilty plea in hopes of a trial.
The former PhD student claimed he was deceived by his legal team into pleading guilty to the murders of four University of Idaho students, claiming key evidence was not properly utilized by his lawyers.
Now, female fans of Bryan Kohberger are claiming that they saw his U-turn coming and were not “shocked” by his move, but have instead been “waiting” for him to make it.
Female fans of Kohberger are speaking out after he filed a petition in late July, seeking to overturn his guilty plea.
In 2025, the killer pleaded guilty to the quadruple murders of University of Idaho students: Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.
However, in a bombshell legal petition coupled with a written statement released through The New York Times, he made scathing remarks about his defense team.
Kohberger accused his lawyers of providing ineffective counsel and deceiving him into a plea deal that traded the death penalty for four consecutive life sentences.
For his online followers, this unexpected claim of innocence has reignited fierce defense campaigns across social media.
Speaking about the guilty plea U-turn, true crime content creator Phoenix, 56, told the Daily Mail, “It wasn’t a surprise to many of us. I don’t think any of us [in the true crime community] were really shocked. We were waiting for it.”
“I’ve been following it since day one,” she continued. “I watched all the court hearings, I’ve read all the court filings, all the expert affidavits, DNA-related evidence, timelines, all the crime scene photos, even the ones they redacted – and I realized, this dude is probably innocent.”
The Killer’s Fan Claims ‘Nothing Was Adding Up’ About His Case
5Phoenix, which is a pseudonym the true crime content creator uses, turned her focus to digital advocacy across YouTube and TikTok.
She has reportedly produced hundreds of videos for her 50,000 followers arguing for Kohberger’s acquittal. She also runs a website called JusticeFourAll.com, which hosts a comprehensive archive of legal records, photographs, and transcripts from the Idaho murder case.
While investigators view this massive body of evidence as proof of guilt, Phoenix interprets it as a sign of his innocence.
“In cases like this, in my opinion, they don’t go the next step – they just don’t,” she further noted. “I think the investigation can be tunnel visioned…sometimes they can get the wrong person. Something for me just didn’t feel right.”
Phoenix continued, “Nothing was adding up. The body cams that were released, the witness statements, the timeline, the DNA evidence, the experts’ affidavits. Something just really didn’t seem right.”
A Female Bryan Kohberger Fan Says She’s ‘Lovesick’ As He’s The ‘Perfect Man’ For Her
5The online defense of Kohberger stretches far beyond casual content creators. For instance, a Kentucky resident named Brittney Hislope has reportedly used Facebook to publish numerous romantic confessions.
She is said to have stated that the accused killer is “the perfect man for her” and admitted she feels completely “lovesick” over the former criminology student.
According to the Daily Mail, Facebook itself has become a hub for this movement, hosting dozens of support networks dedicated to advocating for Kohberger’s acquittal.
These communities operate under various titles, including “Justice for Bryan Kohberger (the innocence discussion)” and “Bryan Kohberger Innocent Until Proven Guilty.”
One specific community, “Bryan Kohberger was the only suspect from the start, Why?” currently boasts a roster of over six thousand members, while a separate group founded by two women, titled “Bryan Kohberger is Innocent,” has attracted nearly a thousand followers.
Although these digital spaces welcome all participants, the loudest and most active voices spearheading these defense campaigns are overwhelmingly female.
True Crime Content Creator Claims Her Support For The Killer Is Based On A Desire To Uncover The Truth, Not Romantic Feelings
5Criminologist David Wilson shared with the Daily Mail that the behavior of some of Kohberger’s female fans follows a well-documented historical pattern known as hybristophilia.
This is a psychological attraction to individuals tied to violent offenses. Despite this expert assessment, Kohberger fan Phoenix maintains that her ongoing advocacy is completely free of any romantic motivation.
“We were talking about a death penalty case,” Phoenix said. “And we’ve seen this over and over where innocent people pigeonhole the plea deal.”
While a lot of people might write off this behavior as an irrational devotion to a convicted quadruple murderer, from Phoenix’s perspective, it is a dedicated search to uncover the truth in a drawn-out case and bring about justice.
The content creator argued, “We deserve to get to hear the evidence because we have unresolved answers.”
What Bryan Kohberger Has Said About His Guilty Plea U-Turn
5Kohberger is currently arguing that misleading guidance from his legal team led him to accept his current life sentences.
Maintaining an “absolute claim of innocence,” he is actively pursuing a legal strategy to void the conviction. In the killer’s bold message to the media, he stated that his innocence is undeniable, asserting that the original plea deal was a result of “blatant disinformation” and must be legally reversed.
Kohberger took aim at the state’s evidence, describing the prosecution’s reconstruction of the crime as a “myopic narrative” and a complete “work of fiction.”
He then claimed that critical pieces of the state’s case were accepted without pushback, writing that the investigation’s faulty baseline was never tested in court.
According to Kohberger, the truth was buried by poor legal decisions, and he warned that authentic resolution for the community is impossible because “justice shall remain abjectly miscarried unless” his guilty plea is “withdrawn.”