Housemate who survived Idaho University murders gets tattoo in tribute of victims
The surviving roommate of the four University of Idaho murder victims has gotten a tattoo in their honour.
As tributes continue to pour in for Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, and Madison Mogen more than ten days after they were stabbed to death, their roommate has chosen to immortalize their legacy on her skin, The Sun reports.
On Tuesday, the survivor posted a picture of her ink featuring angel wings and the victims’ initials — MKXE — on VSCO. The wings are reminiscent of a tattoo Mogen also had on the back of her arm.
The Independent has chosen not to name the woman to avoid undue speculation. Authorities have reiterated that the two surviving roommates are not considered suspects in the brutal stabbings and are not necessarily witnesses of the crime.
Mogen and the woman were both members of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. Her VSCO profile also featured recently-posted pictures of her with the victims, each with tribute captions.
“Maddie Kaylee Xana Ethan —MKXE— Love You Always and Forever,” she captioned the picture of the tattoo, in which another individual with the same art — it is unclear whether it is the second surviving roommate — was also featured.
Meanwhile, the other student who shared the off-campus rental home in Moscow with the victims also left a loving message on a post made by Kernodle’s sister, Jazzmin Kernodle, on Instagram.
“Xana was truly one of a kind and such a gift to this world. She will be missed so much. She was loved by all and will never be forgotten,” the woman, whose name The Independent has also chosen to withhold, wrote last week.
Moscow Police have said that the two housemates were in the residence when the murders took place sometime between 3am and 4am on 13 November. They said at a press conference last week that the women were likely sleeping, having arrived home around 1am.
It is believed that the victims arrived home later that night but before 2am.
Kernodle and Chapin had attended a party on campus at his fraternity, while Mogen and Goncalves had been at a local bar before visiting a food truck and reportedly ordering a cab home.
The “private party” who drove them home has been ruled out as a suspect, police said.
Mogen and Goncalves made seven calls to Goncalves’ ex-partner shortly before their deaths. Police said on Sunday that the man is not considered a suspect and Goncalves’ family have voiced support for him, saying that they “100 per cent stand behind [him.]”
On Wednesday, authorities gave a press conference with virtually no updates, but pointed out that more than 1,000 tips have been received and 190 interviews have been conducted.
Moscow Police said that thousands of pictures were taken of the crime scene and DNA was also collected. Captain Roger Lanier said that the department believes the attack was targeted but won’t release information as to why they think so.
“You’re going to have to trust on that at this point because we are not going to release why we think that,” he said.
The FBI, Idaho State Police and Moscow Police Department have allocated $1m to the case and have assigned more than 130 officers and agents and a few behavioural analysts to work on it.
