Father of Idaho murder victim says ‘means of death’ do not match
Sign up to our free US news bulletin sent straight to your inbox each weekday morning
Sign up to our free morning US email news bulletin
Moscow Police Chief James Fry said on Tuesday that individuals cleared out as suspects in the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students may be reinterviewed.
Mr Fry told Fox News on Tuesday that the people in question could still be called back in to speak with police if the evidence leads law enforcement back to them.
“We always have the option of reinterviewing,” he said. “We’ve actually reinterviewed people two or three times because we’ll get tips, or we’ll get information that we need to verify again, and sometimes we need to ask the questions just a little bit different to ensure that we’re getting the proper information to continue on with this investigation.”
To date, investigators have ruled out: the two surviving housemates who were left unharmed and appear to have slept through the murders, other friends who were in the home when the 911 call was made alerting police to the murders, Goncalves’ former long-term boyfriend, a man seen on camera with Mogen and Goncalves at a food truck on the night of 12 November and the person who gave them a ride from the food truck to the home where they died.
A sixth person listed on the lease of the student home and two men involved in a “stalker” incident with Goncalves around a month before the murders are also not believed to be connected to the case, police said.
It is now more than three weeks since Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were stabbed to death in a student home in Moscow, Idaho, back on 13 November.
No arrests have been made, no suspects named and the murder weapon has not been recovered.
Former tenant of Idaho murder house tells why surviving roommates may not have heard killings
Moscow Police’s announcement early in the investigation into the slayings of Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen that two roommates had been in the home during the violent murders but were not “necessarily considered witnesses” raised questions about how they were seemingly able to sleep through it.
The surviving roommates are thought to have arrived nearly an hour before the victims and were on the first floor when the killings took place between 3am and 4am, authorities have said.
A 911 call was then made at 11.58am from the cellphone of one of the roommates.
A former tenant of the residence, which is just five minutes away driving from the University of Idaho, has now come forward saying that it was not unusual for him not to hear noises from the upper levels when he was downstairs.
“I wouldn’t have heard it from downstairs,” 43-year-old Ryan Augusta told Fox News Digital last week.
Victim’s father turns to private investigators amid lack of updates from ‘inexperienced’ police
Steve Goncalves, whose daughter Kaylee Goncalves was brutally stabbed along with her friends Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin on 13 November, told the New York Post on Sunday - three weeks after the killings - that he has turned to private investigators for help.
His decision to seek outside help stems from a lack of confidence in the Moscow Police Department, which has been working with the Idaho State Police and the FBI on the murders.
Steve Goncalves told the outlet that one of the officers working on the case was still a teen when the last murder took place in the college town of Moscow in 2015
Investigators found no evidence on Kaylee Goncalves’ dog
“Officers did not find any evidence on the dog and there was no indication the animal had entered the crime scene,” the statement said.
It remains unclear where Murphy was physically located when the murders took place, police said.
Investigators previously revealed that the dog was found inside the home when officers arrived on the scene of the murders on 13 November.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the story:
Idaho police address rumours about ‘hoodie guy’ seen near Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen
The man dubbed “hoodie guy” in online sleuth communities - who police previously said is not considered connected to the 13 November killings - became the target of renewed speculation this week after the father of slain student Kaylee Goncalves mentioned rumours around him in an interview with The New York Post on Monday.
A Twitch livestream from the Grub Truck in Moscow, Idaho, captured the man standing nearby Goncalves and Madison Mogen on the night of 12 November, hours before the women were stabbed to death along with their roommate Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin at an off-campus home.
Read the story:
Police have said the man seen on a Twitch livestream near the victims hours before they were killed is not considered a suspect
Stepfather of University of Idaho murder victim pleads for updates three weeks on: ‘We’re angry’
Speaking to Fox News Digital on Monday, Scott Laramie described the nightmare of losing his and his wife’s only child as “the hardest thing in the world.”
Mr Laramie is the stepfather of Madison Mogen, one of four students killed in Moscow.
“It’s still hard to believe sometimes. We get up in the morning, and it’s like, ‘Nah this isn’t happening,’ then it kicks in,” Mr Laramie told Fox.
“We love her and we miss her, and it’s the hardest thing in the world to try to figure out how to live without her.”
The Independent has the story:
Scott Laramie described the nightmare of losing his and his wife’s only child as “the hardest thing in the world”
Former FBI agent says case could take ‘a long time’ to solve
Jennifer Coffindaffer, a former FBI agent who worked 25 years for the agency, told NBC News on Wednesday that it could be a long time before the murderer of four University of Idaho students is brought to justice.
“This is a case that only the most experienced crime techs can solve and answer,” Ms Coffindaffer said. “It’s going to take a long, long time.”
The veteran former agent said on Twitter that the case, which entered its third week on Sunday, could test the patience of law enforcement.
“True joint LE effort with local, state & federal authorities coming together to do everything in their power to solve this case,” she added. “This case will test patience as LE examines evidence to find the killer.”
Ted Bundy’s defense attorney draws similarities between serial killer’s crimes and Moscow murder
In an interview with Fox News Digital, John Henry Browne compared the crime scene at 1122 King Road to a “de facto sorority house,” which Bundy targeted during his violent crime sprees in the 1970s.
“Just the randomness of it is actually something that does stand out,” Mr Browne told the outlet.
“Of course, most of Ted’s misbehaviour was random. There were times when Ted would follow people and then decide not to kill them. And that was his way of exercising his grandiosity, you know, ‘I can control life here and there.’”
Rumours and conspiracy theories debunked by investigators
While officials are remaining tightlipped about key parts of the investigation including why they believe the murders were targeted, they have debunked several online rumours and ruled out potential ties to the killings.
Moscow Police dispelled a false rumour circulating online that the four victims had been bound and gagged during the brutal attack.
The department also ruled out a connection between the murder and two other stabbings in 1999 and 2021.
Video: Moscow Police Chief speaks out
Moscow Police Chief James Fry said on Tuesday that police will start returning personal items to the victims’ families.
Idaho police to return belongings to families of victims
Up to 40 percent of students haven’t returned
Up to 40 percent of University of Idaho students have chosen not to return to campus for the remainder of the winter semester in light of the killer of four students still being at large.
Data from the college has revealed that around 60 to 75 percent of students are on campus – meaning around 25 to 40 percent are not.
In October 2022 – one month before the murders – the university was home to around 11,500 students.
The student population accounts for a large proportion of the small college town of around 25,000 people.
But, with no arrests made in the brutal murders, many students have chosen not to return.
Among those who have, many have changed their habits.
The Independent previously reported how students are arming themselves with guns and ordering deadlocks for their doors in efforts to keep them safe.