Bryan Kohberger’s Secret Trial Plan: The Survivors He Planned to Call for His Defense

Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary

Before Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students, his defense team was quietly preparing a courtroom strategy that would have shocked the nation.
According to newly unsealed court filings, Kohberger planned to call friends of the victims — and even the survivors themselves — as defense witnesses. Among them: Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, the two young women who lived through that horrific night in November 2022. Also on the list were Emily Alandt, Hunter Johnson, and Kaylee Goncalves’ ex-boyfriend, Jack DeCoeur.
Imagine it — the two surviving roommates, who lost four of their closest friends, being forced to testify for the man accused of killing them.
That was the reality Kohberger’s defense was preparing for before he struck a plea deal in July 2025 to avoid the death penalty.
In this episode, Tony Brueski breaks down what that trial might have looked like — and how Kohberger’s strategy reveals far more about his psychology than any confession ever could. Why would a killer want his survivors on the stand? What kinds of questions would they have faced? And what kind of manipulation drives someone to keep controlling people even after their arrest?
This deep-dive dissects the legal and psychological layers of the case: from the 138 witnesses Kohberger planned to call, to the devastating emotional toll that trial would have inflicted on every surviving friend and family member.
Because for Kohberger, control wasn’t just about life and death — it was about owning the story.
And this time, he lost it.
🎧 Watch the full analysis now on Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski.
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