Police are struggling to find a promising lead into the murders of the four Idaho University students as the killer was “sloppy” and left a ‘mess’ of evidence behind, devastated parents of one of the victims said on Sunday. Police are also blaming the Thanksgiving break for the lack of leads.
Steve and Kristi Goncalves, the mourning parents of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four students who died at an off-campus house on November 13, claim that police have informed them that it will take time to fully investigate the chaotic crime scene. Roommates Madison Mogen, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, also stabbing to death alongside Kaylee. Ethan Chapin, a 20-year-old freshman who was dating Xana, was also killed on the same night.
No Clue Yet
The chaotic crime scene will require time to investigate, according to Goncalves’ parents Steve and Kristi. “They’re telling us that there’s so much evidence that it’s going to take a lot of time to process it all,” Steve Goncalves told Fox News on Sunday.
“This wasn’t like a pinpoint crime. This person was sloppy.”
The bereaved parents claimed that although authorities have set up a mobile unit at the location of the heinous crime in an effort to “expedite things,” police have not been able to clarify whether they have DNA from the suspect.
The killer “made a mess there, and they’re going to have to go through that point by point,” her father said. “This wasn’t like a pinpoint crime. This person was sloppy,” he added.
The investigation has been impeded by the Thanksgiving holiday, according to Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson, who claimed last week that many prospective witnesses are students who have already left the small college town for the vacation.
Police had initially said there was no threat to the public, but have subsequently changed their tune and described it as a “complex and terrible crime,” adding that it would take “some time” to investigate.
As they begin their second week of investigating the triple homicide, Moscow Police Department authorities begged for patience during a press conference on Sunday.
Police were unable to provide any details, but they continue to believe that the attack was targeted.
Seeking Public Help
Police are also seeking CCTV footage from two “areas of interest” in Moscow in their search for the killer. They are also requesting the public to come forward with any information or video they may have between the hours of three and six in the morning of November 13.
The four students, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, and Goncalves, were stabbed to death in the early hours of November 13 while they slept, according to authorities. Chapin and Kernodle were dating, and the three women shared a room.
Police are now urging anyone with footage or stills from locations like The Arboretum and Botanical Garden, West Taylor Avenue, West Palouse River Drive, Highway 95 south to the 2700 block of Highway 95 S, which might help they get a lead.
Authorities on Sunday confirmed that multiple other people, including friends of the victims, were present in the house when a 911 call was made, but they have yet to explain why the window of time is so crucial.
Moscow Police Department Chief James Fry claimed that the 911 call at 11.58 a.m. originated from the phone of “one of the surviving housemates,” but he did not identify him or her.
Authorities stated that the two roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, who survived and were uninjured in the incident, are not suspects and have been helping with the investigation.
Police also put an end to multiple rumors and speculation revolving around the possible killer. Lanier said that Mortensen, Funke, and a man who was caught on camera at the food truck that Goncalves and Mogen visited before heading home have all been ruled out as suspects.
“Any online reports stating that the victims had been tied and gagged are not accurate,” Lanier said, after also confirming that there appeared to be no signs of sexual assault.
According to the police, Chapin and Kernodle returned home from the University of Idaho’s Sigma Chi house where they had been staying around 1:45 am on November 13. Police said Mogen and Goncalves were at a pub called The Corner Club in downtown Moscow, left the bar and stopped at a food truck, and then also headed home at approximately 1:45 am.
The two surviving roommates were out separately in Moscow in the late hours of November 12, according to the police, and both had returned home by 1 am in the morning on November 13, they added.
Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt had earlier verified that the bodies were discovered in beds but would not disclose whether the four victims were found in separate locations. According to Mabbutt, the victims’ upper bodies and chests were the targets of the stabbings.
Mabbutt did not elaborate on why she thought the killings were “personal” but added that she does not believe it was a murder-suicide, and that the toxicology results for each victim will be irrelevant.
