Father of Idaho murder victim says ‘means of death’ do not match
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A neighbour of the University of Idaho students brutally stabbed last month has revealed new details about the eerie crime scene on the day of the slayings.
Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were killed between 3am and 4am on 13 November, Moscow Police have previously said. The group had arrived home before 2am and were found dead by law enforcement around noon after a 911 call was made from the phone of one of the surviving roommates.
Chapin and Kernodle’s bodies were found on the second floor while Mogen and Goncalves were found inside a room on the third floor. The two roommates were on the first floor during the stabbings but are believed to have slept through it before the call about an “unconscious person” was made nearly nine hours later.
Now, a neighbour of the victims has told Fox News Digital that they had seen the front door, which opens to the first level, wide open around 8.30am the day of the attack.
Meanwhile, investigators are searching for the occupant or occupants of a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra that was seen “in the immediate area” of the home on King Road in the early hours of 13 November. The occupant “may have critical information to share regarding this case,” police said, as they asked for the public’s help.
More than three weeks on from the slayings, no arrests have been made and no suspects named.
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.”
Idaho police address rumours about ‘hoodie guy’ seen near Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen hours before murders
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.
While the man was cleared by Moscow police shortly after the video emerged, Goncalves’ father Steve Goncalves suggested that police may have ruled him out too quickly in his interview with the Post, claiming that he’d heard the man had since left the country and declined a DNA test.
On Wednesday, Idaho State Police spokesperson Aaron Snell told The Independent that investigators are “aware of the rumours”, but did not confirm or deny them.
“The person in question continues cooperating with the investigation,” Mr Snell added.
‘Case is not cold,’ chief says
Moscow Police Chief James Fry has insisted that the case is “not going cold” despite no arrests being made and no suspects named more than three weeks on from the murders.
“This case is not going cold. We have tips coming in, we have investigators out every day interviewing people. We’re still reviewing evidence, we’re still looking at all aspects of this,” he said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.
“I said early on that no stone will go unturned, and I mean that. We are going to continue. This case is not going cold.”
The police chief choked back tears as he said that – as a father himself – the murders of the four students “affects us”.
Police revealed on Wednesday that they are seeking information about the occupants of a white Hyundai Elantra seen near the scene of the murders in the “early morning hours” of 13 November.
Kaylee Goncalves’ family considers legal action
The grieving family of murdered student Kaylee Goncalves is considering legal action to force police to release information about the case, as tensions continue to mount between law enforcement and the victims’ families.
Law enforcement officials are remaining tight-lipped about several details of the brutal killings, including who may have been the target of the attack.
Some of the victims’ families are growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of information, with Goncalves’ father Steve Goncalves accusing officials of “messing up a million times” during the ongoing probe.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:
Kaylee Goncalves’ father Steve Goncalves accused officials of ‘messing up a million times’ during the ongoing murder probe
Three weeks into the investigation, no murder weapon has been found.
“I’ve been a coroner for 16 years... we have had multiple [victim] murders in the past, but nothing, nothing like this,” she said.
Police have now revealed that they believe the murder weapon was a fixed-blade knife and confirmed that they had visited local stores to inquire about any recent purchases.
A local store owner previously said that officials had been especially interested in sales of a military-style Ka-Bar or “Rambo” knife.
Kaylee Goncalves’ ‘stalker’ incident is ruled out
In a statement on Monday, the department said on Facebook that they are aware of an “isolated” incident involving Goncalves and two men back in October. The men, who reportedly followed Goncalves into a business and as she returned to her car, are not believed to be involved in the murder, Moscow police said.
“In mid-October, two males were seen inside a local business; they parted ways, and one male appeared to follow Kaylee inside the business and as she exited to walk toward her car. The male turned away, and it did not appear he made any contact with her,” the post read.
It continued: “Detectives contacted both males and learned the two were attempting to meet women at the business, this was corroborated through additional investigation. Based on available information, detectives believe this was an isolated incident and not an ongoing pattern of stalking. No evidence suggests the two males were involved in the murders.”
These questions could hold the key to solving the Idaho murders
While police won’t say what they do know, they have resorted to debunking some of these online theories that they know to be incorrect.
But, with each piece of information revealed or each theory debunked, dozens more questions emerge about the case.
Here, The Independent takes a deep dive into the mountain of unsolved questions – and the scant details we do know.
With each piece of information revealed or theory debunked, dozens more questions emerge. Sheila Flynn, Rachel Sharp and Andrea Blanco report on the murders that have rocked the small town of Moscow
From campus to club to crime scene: What happened in the Idaho murder victims’ final hours
They did what they’d do on any Saturday night.
Could clues to the Idaho killings lie in victims’ ordinary evenings?
Reporting from Moscow, The Independent’s Sheila Flynn outlines the four young students’ final hours:
Mystery sixth housemate not believed to be connected to murders
The mystery sixth person listed on the lease of the student home where the four students were brutally murdered in their beds is not believed to have been involved in the killings.
Moscow Police said on Friday that they had spoken to the unnamed individual and confirmed that they moved out of the property before the start of the school year.
The individual was not present at the time of the murders and detectives do not believe they had any involvement in the crime, police said in a statement.
The identity of that person has not been publicly released. It is not clear if they are a fellow student and friend of the victims.
Police revealed for the first time on Thursday that a sixth individual is listed on the lease for the three-storey home.
The revelation came after authorities previously said only five people lived at the home on King Road in Moscow, Idaho – victims Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle along with two other roommates who survived the attack.
The large property has six bedrooms across three floors and is located just feet from the University of Idaho campus.
Two of the victims’ bodies were found on the third floor and the other two on the second floor.
Two surviving roommates – who have not been publicly named by authorities – were asleep in their first floor bedrooms at the time of the attack and were left unharmed. They are believed to have slept through the brutal murders.
The rumours and conspiracy theories ruled out so far:
More than three weeks have passed since four University of Idaho students were brutally stabbed to death in the small college town of Moscow – with no suspects identified, no arrests made and the murder weapon nowhere to be found.
Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were found murdered in the off-campus home that the three female students shared in the early hours of 13 November.
The four victims were all stabbed multiple times with a fixed-blade knife and are believed to have died at around 3am or 4am that morning.
Their bodies went undiscovered for around eight hours when police were finally called to the home to a report for an “unconscious individual”.
Despite multiple law enforcement agencies being drafted in to work on the case, police appear to be no closer to catching the killer, leaving students and residents of the notoriously safe town racked by fear and social media awash with speculation.
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.
This is what police have ruled out so far:
While officials are remaining tightlipped about key parts of the investigation, they have debunked several online rumours and ruled out potential ties to the killings
