Bryan Kohberger Idaho murder case gets Hollywood treatment in new true-crime film

17 Oct 2025 By foxnews

Lifetime has cast Miles Merry in a "ripped from the headlines" film focused on the story of Bryan Kohberger and the Idaho murders.

"The Idaho Murders," which is a working title, will focus on Kohberger's confessed killing of four University of Idaho students in 2022, according to Deadline. Production is expected to begin this month.

Merry has also appeared in Lifetime's "Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story" and "Girl in the Shed: The Kidnapping of Abby Hernandez," both based on true stories.

The upcoming movie is based on the gruesome Nov. 13, 2022, murders. Kohberger entered a Moscow, Idaho, home and stabbed Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin to death.

BRYAN KOHBERGER TOOK PLEA DEAL DAYS AFTER PROSECUTORS LISTED HIS SISTER AS POTENTIAL WITNESS

Kohberger was sentenced to life without parole in July for the stabbing murders. Kohberger was also given a 10-year sentence for burglary and assessed $270,000 in fines and civil penalties.

The 30-year-old pleaded guilty to the murder charges weeks before his case was scheduled to go to trial to avoid the death penalty.

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When it was his turn to speak in court at his sentencing, Kohberger gave no explanation for the killings. He told the judge, "I respectfully decline."

The 2022 crime horrified the city, which had not seen a homicide in about five years, and prompted a massive search for the perpetrator. Some students took the rest of their classes online because they felt unsafe.

Kohberger, a graduate student in criminology at nearby Washington State University, was arrested in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, roughly six weeks after the murders.

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Investigators revealed DNA found on a Q-tip from the garbage of his parents' home matched DNA found on a knife sheath found inside the King Road residence.

However, the murder weapon was never recovered. Investigators also failed to find the clothes Kohberger wore at the time of the murders and a connection between him and the four University of Idaho students.

Kohberger's mother and sister sat in the gallery near the defense table during his sentencing. His mother quietly wept at times as the other parents described their grief.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.