Idaho murders - live: Moscow police probe potential tie to unsolved Salem Oregon stabbing
Questions are mounting about a potential link between the quadruple murders of four University of Idaho students and a 2021 stabbing murder in Salem, Oregon, which also remains unsolved.
Both cases involved an assailant breaking into a home at around 3am in the morning and attacking victims in their beds with a knife while other people were in the house.
When asked about the case in a press conference on Wednesday, Moscow Police Chief James Fry confirmed he had received a tip and that there is “stuff that we are going to follow up on”.
Frustration is mounting over the investigation into the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, as 11 days on from the brutal stabbing deaths no arrests have been made and no suspects identified.
The four students were all stabbed to death in an off-campus home on 13 November while their two other roommates slept.
The housemates, Goncalves’s former boyfriend, the person who gave Goncalves and Mogen a ride home, and a man who was with them at a food truck have all been ruled out as suspects.
Key points
Weapon believed to be a fix-blade knife, say police
Police probing whether victim Kaylee Goncalves had a stalker
Police rule out mystery car incident from 21 November
Neighbour says victims' residence 'not necessarily a party house'
Families of victims plead to end wild conspiracy theories
Over a week, 600 tips, no suspects identified, no arrests made
Three missteps on the 10-day investigation, experts say
17:16 , Andrea Blanco
Experts have pointed out a series of missteps in the investigation into the murders of four University of Idaho students.
While the public and grieving families have grown frustrated over the lack of information being released and the conspiracy theories fueled by internet sleuths, respectively, a retired NYPD sergeant told Fox that Moscow Police have revealed plenty.
“Investigators have given out too much information,” Joseph Giacalone, a 20-year police veteran and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice told the network.
The Independent has the story:
Criminal experts reveal three key missteps in Idaho murders investigation
Moscow Police thanks community for support amid investigation
16:30 , Andrea Blanco
In light of Thanksgiving Day, the department posted a message on Facebook thanking locals for the outpouring of support as they continue to investigate the most high-profile murder in the college town’s history.
“We have received beautiful notes and letters of appreciation. Donations of amazing food, baked goods, and so much more. To our Moscow residents, we are humbled by the outpouring of support,” the post read.
Featured in the post were cards and letters from residents to the officers.
Victims often ‘hosted parties’ in their off-campus rental home
15:28 , Andrea Blanco
Jeremy Reagan, a third-year law student who lives near the scene of the murders, told Fox News that the victims would often host self-contained gatherings and added that people went in and out of the house “pretty frequently.”
“There were parties that were kind of loud,” Mr Reagan said.
“As I would take my dog in and out to go to the bathroom [and] I would see people in the windows almost every night, probably four or five nights a week ... it was kind of a party house but then again this whole neighbourhood is a party neighbourhood.”
Moscow police have reiterated that there were no signs of forced entry into the six-bedroom home.
The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has the story:
Slain Idaho students often ‘hosted parties’ in their rental home, neighbours say
From campus to club to crime scene: What happened in the Idaho murder victims’ final hours
14:50 , Rachel Sharp
It could have been anyone, in any US college town, on any Saturday night. That’s how typical the murdered students’ behaviour was in Moscow, Idaho, just hours before they were brutally stabbed to death.
The University of Idaho campus had been busy that day, a sea of gold and silver as the Vandals prepared for a home game against the UC Davis Aggies in the 16,000-seat Kibbie Dome. It was 28 degrees at kickoff – the weather was listed as a daunting “ice fog” – but happy, loyal fans turned out; the Vandals’ 44-26 loss was disappointing but did not deter the students from preparing to hit the town.
Among them were five girls living in a three-bedroom rental home on King Road, just over a mile from the stadium and only two blocks from the edge of campus. Kaylee Goncalves and Maddie Mogen, both 21 and childhood best friends, were heading together to the bars downtown. Xana Kernodle, 20, was planning to hang out with her boyfriend, 20-year-old Ethan Chapin. The girls’ two other female roommates would spend the night out, also.
The Independent’s Sheila Flynn reports from on the ground in Moscow about the victims’ final hours:
Campus to club to crime scene: What happened in Idaho murder victims’ final hours
Idaho student murders may be linked to stabbing a year earlier and 400 miles away, police reveal
14:30 , Rachel Sharp
Investigators in Moscow are exploring the possibility that the quadruple murders of four University of Idaho students may be connected to a 2021 unsolved stabbing murder 400 miles away in Oregon.
Back on 13 August 2021, a couple was attacked in their home in Salem, Oregon, by a masked assailant who broke in armed with a knife, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.
Travis Juetten, 26, and Jamilyn Juetten, 24, were woken at around 3am in the morning when the mystery attacker entered their bedroom and stabbed them both multiple times.
Mr Juetten tried to fight off the attacker but was stabbed to death. Ms Juetten was stabbed 19 times in the attack but miraculously survived.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:
Idaho student murders may be linked to 2021 Oregon stabbing, police reveal
Police defend their handling of case
14:10 , Rachel Sharp
Police in Moscow tried to defend their handling of the case in a press conference on Wednesday – despite having no arrests and no suspects 10 days in to the investigation.
Idaho State police colonel Kedrick Willis said he understands the frustration over the lack of information in the case but insisted that work is going on “behind the scenes” and that they need to protect the investigation.
“We understand you want answers. We want answers too. But these take time,” he said.
“We believe we owe this to the surviving families to get this right. We’re not willing to sacrifice speed for quality. We collected 103 pieces of evidence, we took approximately 4,000 photographs, we’ve conducted 3D scans of the residence, we’ve processed over 1,000 total tips and conducted 150 interviews.”
He added: “I hope that gives a perception of just how complex this investigation is. We ask you to please remain patient as this investigation unfolds.”
Terror grips Idaho college town after quadruple murder
13:50 , Rachel Sharp
Parents are ordering deadbolts, teens are asking for guns and the streets are empty in Moscow.
There is a killer - or killers - on the loose, ten days after four college students were murdered in their beds.
Locals reveal how fear is deepening as time goes by without any arrests and with little information from police.
The Independent’s Sheila Flynn reveals all in this special report from on the ground in Moscow, Idaho:
Guns, deadbolts and mass student exodus: Terror grips Idaho town after murders
Frustration mounts as police remain stumped by case
13:30 , Rachel Sharp
Frustration is mounting against the local authorities investigating the murders as they appear to be stumped by the case and continue to withhold key details about the killings.
On Wednesday, Moscow Police gave what is only the third press conference about the high-profile unsolved case in 11 days.
In it, they released few new details, simply reiterating people who have been ruled out as suspects and saying that they were still looking into the theory that Kaylee Goncalves had a stalker.
They also refused to say why they believe the murders were targeted – instead telling the terrified community to “trust us”.
“You’re going to have to trust on that at this point because we are not going to release why we think that,” said Moscow Police Department captain Roger Lanier.
Who have police ruled out as suspects?
13:10 , Rachel Sharp
Eleven days into the investigation, no arrests have been made and no suspects named.
However, police have ruled out several people as suspects in the grisly murders. They are:
- The two surviving housemates who were in the home at the time of the killings.
- The man who was caught on camera with Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a food truck in the downtown area before they headed home.
- The person who gave Mogen and Goncalves a ride home from the food truck.
- Goncalves’ former long-term boyfriend, with whom she shares a dog.
Idaho police unable to confirm reports that victim had a stalker
12:50 , Rachel Sharp
The Moscow Police Department have been unable to confirm reports that murder victim Kaylee Goncalves had a stalker.
Kaylee, 21, was found brutally stabbed to death on 13 November along with her roommates Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Xana’s visiting boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20.
Despite “looking extensively” into concerns raised by people who knew Goncalves that she had complained about a stalker, police were unable to confirm those reports, the department said during a press conference on Wednesday.
“We obtained information through some of our interviews that Kaylee had made some comments about having a stalker, so that’s where that came from,” Moscow Police Captain Roger Lanier said.
The Independent’s Sheila Flynn reports from on the ground in Moscow, Idaho:
Idaho police unable to confirm reports that victim had a stalker
Surviving housemate gets tattoo in tribute of slain friends
12:30 , Rachel Sharp
One of the housemates who survived the horror quadruple murders in Moscow, Idaho, has revealed that she has gotten a new tattoo paying tribute to her slain friends.
Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, were stabbed to death in an off-campus home that the three women shared in Moscow back on 13 November.
Two other roommates were home at the time of the murders but were left unharmed.
Police said they were in the first floor of the house and are believed to have slept through the attack. The housemates, two other female University of Idaho students, have been ruled out as suspects.
One of the surviving housemate shared a photo of a new tattoo on her arm on her VCSO account this week.
The tattoo features anglel wings and the initials of her four murdered friends: “MKXE”.
The arm of a second person is also in the photo with the same tattoo.
Questions mount about potential link to a 2021 unsolved stabbing murder
12:10 , Rachel Sharp
Questions are mounting as to whether the quadruple murders of the four University of Idaho students may be connected to a 2021 unsolved stabbing murder in Oregon.
Back on 13 August 2021, two victims were attacked in their home in Salem, Oregon, by an assailant who broke in armed with a knife.
Travis and Jamilyn Juetten woke at around 3am in the morning and were attacked by the suspect.
Mr Juetten tried to fight off the attacker but was stabbed to death.
Ms Juetten was stabbed 19 times in the attack but survived.
More than one year on, the case remains unsolved with similarities being drawn between the stabbing murder and the slayings of the four students on 13 November in Moscow, Idaho. Both cases involve a suspect armed with a knife breaking into a home at around 3am and attacking victims in their beds.
During a press conference on Wednesday, a reporter asked whether Moscow police were exploring a possible connection between the two cases.
Moscow Police Department Chief James Fry confirmed that he was aware of the 2021 case and that investigators had received a tip about it.
“We’re looking at every avenue and we have other agencies reaching out to us with other cases, stuff that we are going to follow up on,” he said.
The two cases have not been officially connected by law enforcement.
Police retrace victims’ final steps before murders
11:55 , Rachel Sharp
During a press conference on Wednesday, Moscow Police Captain Roger Lanier Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21.
Officials believe the students were killed sometime between 3am and 4am on 13 November after arriving home before 2am.
Two surviving victims are believed to have been around 1am. Law enforcement was called to the home on King Road at 11.58am on Sunday after a 911 call came in alerting them to “an unconscious individual”.
The call, which police said will not be released at this time, was made from the cellphone of one of the surviving roommates.
Authorities have since revealed that all four victims were stabbed to death in their sleep.
The murder weapon has not been recovered.
The Independent’s Io Dodds and Rachel Sharp have the timeline of the events:
Timeline: What we know so far about the murder of four University of Idaho students
Police reiterate roommates and male seen on video with victims have been ruled out as suspects
11:35 , Rachel Sharp
Moscow authorities gave a press conference on Wednesday revisiting much of the information that had already been released days prior and offering no updates on the murder investigation.
Captain Roger Lanier reiterated that the two surviving roommates who placed the 911 call around noon on 13 November are not considered suspects.
A man who was captured on Twitch video with two of the victims mere hours before the murders, and a private party who drove the victims home have also been ruled out.
Authorities have asked for speculation to stop, highlighting that reports online that the four victims had been tied and gagged before they were murdered was completely inaccurate.
Guns, deadbolts and a mass student exodus
11:00 , Andrea Blanco
Parents are ordering deadbolts, teens are asking for guns and the streets are empty in Moscow, The Independent’s Sheila Flynn reports.
The eerie scene has not changed in the more than ten days since four University of Idaho students — Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, were murdered in their off-campus rental home.
The killer remains on the loose and locals in the town of just 25,000 tell The Independent that fear is deepening as time goes by without any arrests and with little information from police
Read Sheila’s report from on the ground in Idaho:
Guns, deadbolts and mass student exodus: Terror grips Idaho town after murders
Moscow Police urge the public to continue submitting tips
10:00 , Andrea Blanco
On Wednesday, police renewed their commitment to the investigation and thanked the public for the numerous tips received, stressing that no piece of evidence was too small.
They continue looking into more than 1,000 tips received since the murders took place on 13 November, Moscow Police Chief James Fry said.
He encouraged residents to continue submitting information they think may be linked to the killings.
“We still believe there is more information to be gathered,” Mr Fry said. “We ask anyone, with any information ... to get that information to us.”
“Even if you don’t believe that it is relevant, investigators will determine if and how, your information builds a picture. Sometimes what a picture or video doesn’t show is as important as what it should be there.”
Moscow authorities said they won’t reveal certain details in order to preserve investigation
09:00 , Andrea Blanco
Idaho police said that they believe the quadruple murder was targeted, but won’t disclose who was targeted or why they believe so.
Local police said that the priority is to preserve the evidence and prevent potentially jeopardizing it.
“You’re going to have to trust on that at this point because we are not going to release why we think that,” Moscow Police Department captain Roger Lanier said during a press conference on Wednesday.
The Independent’s Josh Marcus has the story:
Moscow police refuse to say why they think murdered students were targeted
No suspects in investigations ten days after the brutal murders
08:00 , Andrea Blanco
Ten days after the four victims were stabbed to death in their rooms, police said Wednesday they still have not identified a suspect or found a murder weapon.
They’ve continued asking for tips and surveillance video.
Moscow Police Captain Roger Lanier told a news conference his department is putting all of its resources into solving the case and that investigators are prepared to work through the Thanksgiving holiday.
Authorities gave no indication that they’re any closer to making an arrest, but they did stress that they continue processing forensic evidence gathered from the home where the students were killed.
Students won’t be asked to return to campus until 2023
07:00 , Andrea Blanco
As the community of Moscow reels from the brutal slayings, fellow students continue to grapple with safety concerns as the killer remains at large.
University of Idaho senior student Dylan Bartels told The Independent that he estimated half of the students had left Moscow and gone home before the Thanksgiving break. Others, like Mr Bartels, don’t have that option and have stayed on campus.
University president Scott Greene said that the college plans to “be flexible through the end of the semester,” and that faculty were asked to prepare in-person and remote learning options for the final two weeks of the semester.
The Independent has the story:
University of Idaho students won’t have to return to campus until 2023 after murders
Missteps on the 10-day investigation, according to experts
06:00 , Andrea Blanco
Experts have pointed out a series of missteps in the investigation into the murders of four University of Idaho students.
While the public and grieving families have grown frustrated over the lack of information being released and the conspiracy theories fueled by internet sleuths, respectively, a retired NYPD sergeant told Fox that Moscow Police have revealed plenty.
“Investigators have given out too much information,” Joseph Giacalone, a 20-year police veteran and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice told the network.
Officials have also backtracked from information initially reported.
Another source of controversy in the handling of the investigation has been Moscow Police Chief Jame Fry’s initial assessment reassuring the community in the small college town that there was no ongoing threat three days after the violent murders.
He later backtracked from those remarks, asking residents to remain vigilant and cautious of their surroundings.
The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has the story:
Criminal experts reveal three key missteps in Idaho murders investigation
They posted photos enjoying college life and were killed mere hours later. What happened?
05:00 , Andrea Blanco
In an Instagram post the day before, 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves shared photos of her group of friends arm-in-arm, grinning carefree at the camera in a show of typical college fun, Rachel Sharp writes.
“One lucky girl to be surrounded by these ppl everyday,” Kaylee Goncalves wrote on social media on the evening of 12 November.
Mere hours later, Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin and Madison Mogen were killed inside the women’s rental house.
More than a week after the murders that rocked the college town of Moscow, the killer remains on the loose.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:
Four friends posted photos enjoying Idaho college life. Hours later they were killed
No updates in the investigation into the brutal slayings
04:00 , Andrea Blanco
Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington were killed on 13 November.
Police said Tuesday they had pursued tips that Goncalves had a stalker, but they hadn’t been able to identify one.
They also have knocked down rumours about other incidents — including a car break-in and a dog’s slaying — being potentially related to the case.
Slain Idaho students often ‘hosted parties’ in their off-campus rental home
03:00 , Andrea Blanco
Jeremy Reagan, a third-year law student who lives near the scene of the murders, told Fox News that the victims would often host self-contained gatherings and added that people went in and out of the house “pretty frequently.”
“There were parties that were kind of loud,” Mr Reagan said.
“As I would take my dog in and out to go to the bathroom [and] I would see people in the windows almost every night, probably four or five nights a week ... it was kind of a party house but then again this whole neighbourhood is a party neighbourhood.”
Moscow police have reiterated that there were no signs of forced entry into the six-bedroom home.
The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has the story:
Slain Idaho students often ‘hosted parties’ in their rental home, neighbours say
Friends and family mourned Ethan Chapin at an emotional memorial
02:00 , Andrea Blanco
“We want to thank each and every one of you for being a part of Ethan’s life,” his family wrote in a program for the memorial on Tuesday.
“It is an incredible testimony to his character just how many lives he has touched in his short 20 years.
The loss is unimaginable but our family will persevere.”
Chapin, 20, was a triplet, and is survived by his parents and his siblings Maizie and Hunter. All three triplets enrolled in the University of Idaho last August and were looking forward to spending their college years together.
“Since attending the University of Idaho, Ethan lived his best life,” according to his obituary.
“He loved the social life, intramurals and tolerated the academics. He also continued to play sports.”
“If he wasn’t on the golf course or working, you could usually find him surfing, playing sand volleyball or pickle ball,” the obituary said.
Moscow police ‘stumped’ after surviving roommates sleep through violent knife attack
01:35 , Andrea Blanco
Police said that the two roommates were also in the property at the time of the killings, having returned around 1am – not long before the four victims also returned home.
The pair were unharmed in the violent knife attack and appear to have slept through what happened.
In a press conference on Sunday, police said that the surviving roommates “did not wake up until later that morning”.
Officials admitted it is something investigators are also struggling to understand how the two women managed to sleep through the violent stabbings.
“I don’t even know that information at this point in time,” said Chief James Fry of the Moscow Police Department. “That’s why we’re continuing to investigate.”
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the story:
Idaho murders: Police ‘stumped’ after surviving roommates slept through knife attack
Attacker was ‘sloppy,’ criminal expert says
00:33 , Andrea Blanco
A retired FBI behavioural analyst profiled the killer as “sloppy,” and close in age to the victims.
Former agent Jim Clemente, who is not working on the case, spoke to Fox News Digital about the quadruple murder that shook the college town of Moscow and the nation on 13 November.
“This offender did not just randomly choose this location, that he targeted one or more of the people in there,” Mr Clemente told the network.
“That could be because he has a relationship ... with one or more of them, or it could be that he’s been stalking one or more of them.”
The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has the story:
Idaho college killer likely a stalker or knew students, ex-FBI profiler says
Victims often ‘hosted parties with lots of people coming in and out of the house'
Wednesday 23 November 2022 23:07 , Andrea Blanco
Moscow resident Heather Tetwiler told Fox News that the slain students — Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Moge, 21, — would host college gatherings, but that the residence was “not necessarily a party house.”
“They had like small gatherings, maybe like ten people or so and it never really got crazy other than the usual college stuff but they were pretty respectful,” Ms Tetwiler said.
Moscow police have reiterated that there were no signs of forced entry into the six-bedroom home.
The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has the story:
Slain Idaho students often ‘hosted parties’ in their rental home, neighbours say
Moscow Police refuse to reveal why they think the attack was targeted
Wednesday 23 November 2022 21:59 , Andrea Blanco
In a conference with little updates on Wednesday, Moscow police said that they would not be revealing why the attack is thought to be targeted.
“You’re going to have to trust us on that at this point because we are not going to release why we think that,” a police spokesperson said.
Authorities added that the department is not “willing to sacrifice speed for quality,” and information will be released in due time in order to preserve the investigation.
Authorities unable to corroborate Kaylee Goncalves was being stalked
Wednesday 23 November 2022 21:16 , Andrea Blanco
During a press conference on Wednesday, authorities said that attempts to investigate reports that one of the victims was being stalked had not been successful.
Moscow Captain Roger Lanier said that the department had looked intensively into reports that Goncalves had a stalker, and encouraged the public to continue submitting tips.
Families decry conspiracists: ‘All the noise is really harming’
Wednesday 23 November 2022 20:56 , Andrea Blanco
The first of four services for the victims was held on Monday in the Washington State hometown of 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, the sole male victim of the quadruple homicide more than a week earlier near the University of Idaho, The Independent’s Sheila Flynn writes.
In her latest report from on the ground in Idaho, Sheila writes: “As hundreds gathered to pay their respects, the three other victims’ families were also grieving six hours away in Idaho – and pleading for an end to wild speculation about the case that has both amplified their pain and complicated investigations.”
“All the noise out there is really harming the families,” a friend of Kristi and Steve Goncalves, Kaylee’s parents, told The Independent. “And it’s taking the police down trails that are not real and taking them away from the ones that are.”
Read Sheila’s coverage:
Families of Idaho murder victims beg for calm as conspiracists hijack case
University of Idaho tells student they won’t have to return to campus unti 2023
Wednesday 23 November 2022 19:43 , Andrea Blanco
In a release on Tuesday, university president Scott Greene said that the college plans to “be flexible through the end of the semester.
Faculty were asked to prepare in-person and remote learning options for the final two weeks of the semester.
University of Idaho senior student Dylan Bartels told The Independent that he estimated half of the students had left Moscow and gone home before the Thanksgiving break. Others, like Mr Bartels, don’t have that option and have stayed on campus.
“Normally, I have to drive around five minutes trying to find a parking spot; I pulled in and one of the closest spots is open,” Mr Bartels said. “I mean, literally, the student population going to class declined by 50 per cent. Overnight.”
The Independent’s Sheila Flynn and Andrea Blanco have the story:
University of Idaho students won’t have to return to campus until 2023 after murders
More details expected to be revealed during presser on Wednesday
Wednesday 23 November 2022 18:50 , Andrea Blanco
The Moscow Police Department and other agencies involved in the massive search for a suspect in the Idaho college murders case are set to give their latest update today.
A press conference is scheduled for 1pm local time.
It’s been three days since police gave their last press conference on Sunday.
I that event, authorities said that the two surviving roommates, a male seen on Twitch video that also featured Goncalves and Mogen at a food truck hours before the murders, and an individual who drove the two of them home that night are not considered suspects.
Killer was likely a stalker or someone who knew four students, ex-FBI profiler says
Wednesday 23 November 2022 18:05 , Andrea Blanco
A retired FBI behavioural analyst believes the culprit behind the University of Idaho murders was either a stalker or somebody known to the victims.
Former agent Jim Clemente, who is not working on the case, spoke to Fox News Digital about the quadruple murder that shook the college town of Moscow and the nation on 13 November. Mr Clemente profiled the killer as “sloppy,” and close in age to the victims.
The expert added that he believed the murderer likely has a past or current relationship with the victims or had been stalking one of them before carrying out the brutal stabbings of Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21.
The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has more:
Idaho college killer likely a stalker or knew students, ex-FBI profiler says
Victims were stabbed to death in their beds
Wednesday 23 November 2022 17:14 , Andrea Blanco
Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt told NewsNation that each victim suffered multiple stab wounds from a “pretty large knife.”
“It has to be somebody pretty angry in order to stab four people to death,” Mabbutt said.
Mabbutt’s comments expanded on the autopsy reports that concluded the four students were murdered by being stabbed to death. The bodies were found on the second and third floors.
Authorities have said they were found in their bead and were likely sleeping at the time of the attack.
Terror grips Moscow after quadruple murder
Wednesday 23 November 2022 16:28 , Andrea Blanco
More than ten days after the brutal stabbings of Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, shocked Moscow a dark cloud remains over the small college town, residents tell The Independent’s Sheila Flynn.
The local can’t keep up with demands for deadbolts, receiving up to 50 requests a day — more work than the two store employees can take on.
One student at Idaho University estimates that 50 per cent of the student body, which makes up half of Moscow’s population, has left campus.
Meanwhile, a tattoo shop owner has offered to walk residents home and check their homes before they locked their doors.
Read Sheila’s report from on the ground in Idaho:
Guns, deadbolts and mass student exodus: Terror grips Idaho town after murders
Multiple people were at the home when 911 call was made
Wednesday 23 November 2022 15:23 , Andrea Blanco
Police revealed earlier this week that the two surviving roommates had ‘summoned friends’ to the home around noon on 13 November because they believed one of the victims had passed out.
More than one person spoke to the 911 dispatcher before officers were dispatched to the residence in the college town of Moscow.
Police arrived at the scene and found the bodies of the four victims on the second and third floors.
It is thought that they were killed during their sleep.
Timeline of the brutal murders
Wednesday 23 November 2022 14:30 , Megan Sheets
More than s week on from the murders, much remains a mystery surrounding the circumstances of the horrific stabbings of Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21.
Officials believe the students were killed sometime between 3am and 4am on 13 November.
Law enforcement was called to the home on King Road at 11.58am on Sunday after a 911 call came in alerting them to “an unconscious individual”.
The call was made from the cellphone of one of the surviving roommates but police have refused to confirm the identity of the caller.
Authorities have since revealed that all four victims were stabbed to death with an “edged weapon such as a knife” – though the murder weapon has not been found.
The Independent’s Io Dodds and Rachel Sharp have an updated timeline of the developments in the case:
Timeline: What we know so far about the murder of four University of Idaho students
Police dispel speculation surrounding murders of four University of Idaho students
Wednesday 23 November 2022 14:10 , Megan Sheets
Authorities in Moscow, where four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death last week, have warned the public against rumours online.
During a press conference on Sunday, Moscow Police revealed few details about the ongoing investigation into the brutal murders of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. No arrests have been made a week after the slayings and police have yet to identify any suspects.
Authorities addressed conspiracies surrounding the murders that have been spreading online. Police Captain Roger Lanier denied reports that the victims had been found tied and gagged and said that any information circulating about the identity of the 911 caller was mere speculation.
Read more from Andrea Blanco:
Moscow police dispel specualtion surrounding University of Idaho students’ murders
Moscow police to give update at 1pm press conference
Wednesday 23 November 2022 13:49 , Megan Sheets
Authorities with the Moscow Police Department and other agencies involved in the massive search for a suspect in the Idaho college murders case are set to give their latest update today.
A press conference is scheduled for 1pm local time.
It’s been three days since police gave their last press conference on Sunday evening.
In that event, very little new information was presented - adding to frustrations over the pace of the investigation.
It is unclear what information could come out of the press conference today.
Grieving families demand conspiracists to stop: ‘All the noise is really harming’
Wednesday 23 November 2022 13:00 , Andrea Blanco
The first of four services for the victims was held on Monday in the Washington State hometown of 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, the sole male victim of the quadruple homicide more than a week earlier near the University of Idaho, The Independent’s Sheila Flynn writes.
His girlfriend, Xana Kernodle, 20, and her roommates Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, were also killed in the attack.
The memorial was closed to the media.
In her latest report from on the ground in Idaho, Sheila writes: “As hundreds gathered to pay their respects, the three other victims’ families were also grieving six hours away in Idaho – and pleading for an end to wild speculation about the case that has both amplified their pain and complicated investigations.”
“All the noise out there is really harming the families,” a friend of Kristi and Steve Goncalves, Kaylee’s parents, told The Independent. “And it’s taking the police down trails that are not real and taking them away from the ones that are.”
Read the full story here:
Families of Idaho murder victims beg for calm as conspiracists hijack case
Moscow police is aware that Kaylee Goncalves had a stalker
Wednesday 23 November 2022 12:00 , Andrea Blanco
Authorities have confirmed that they’re actively investigating the reports that one of the four University of Idaho students killed on 13 November had a stalker.
“We’re aware of these various reports and we’re investigating,” a Moscow Police Department spokesperson told ABC on Tuesday.
Goncalves, her roommates Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death during the attack last week.
“There is a piece of evidence out there somewhere that’s gonna help us solve this case,” the spokesperson added to ABC.
The Independent has reached out to the department for comment.
Dog was found unharmed at the home where murders took place, police reveal
Wednesday 23 November 2022 11:00 , Andrea Blanco
Idaho police have confirmed that an unharmed dog was found at the crime scene of the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students.
The Moscow Police Department released a statement on Monday saying that officers responding to the fatal stabbings at 1122 King Road on 13 November located a dog at the residence.
The pet was unharmed and turned over to Animal Services, police said.
It has since been released to a “responsible party.” it is unclear who owned the dog.
It was not disclosed whether police believe that the killer, who is still at large, spared the dog’s life or never came into contact with it.
The Independent’s Sheila Flynn has the story:
Dog is found alive and unscathed at bloody scene of Idaho college murders
Killer ‘likely knew victims and layout of the house,’ criminology expert weighs in
Wednesday 23 November 2022 10:00 , Andrea Blanco
Jim Clemente, a retired FBI agent, told Fox News Digital that the suspect behind the killings of Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, was likely a young man who had not carried out a murder before.
“He’s sloppy,” the behavioural analysis expert told the network. “This is probably more of a compulsive kind of person, that would put him at a younger age and, maybe in the age group or just above the victims.”
“I don’t think he’s particularly sophisticated, criminally sophisticated or forensically sophisticated.”
Mr Clemente, who is not working on the case, also told Fox that the murderer likely knew one of the victims, or had been stalking them recently.
Investigators move boundary tape to cover back of the King Road home
Wednesday 23 November 2022 09:00 , Andrea Blanco
Police have cordoned off the parking lot of the Moscow, Idaho, home where four University of Idaho students were found stabbed to death on 13 November.
The area had not previously been blocked off, Fox News Digital reported.
It is unclear whether the department has cordoned off the area to preserve potential evidence from contamination or if new developments in the investigation into the horrific stabbings of Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, have already been made.
The Moscow Police Department said in a statement to The Independent that the crime scene “was not expanded” but “the boundary tape was moved [because] detectives needed extra space to work.
The Independent asked the department for clarification on why it had not been moved before.
Idaho investigators seek surveillance video
Wednesday 23 November 2022 08:00 , Andrea Blanco
Authorities investigating the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students have asked for outside surveillance video.
The Moscow Police Department late Saturday requested from businesses and residences in specific parts of the city any footage recorded between 3am and 6am on 13 November.
Police said they have received more than 600 tips after the killings shook the Idaho Panhandle community of 25,000 residents.
More than 90 people have been interviewed. No arrests have been made as of Tuesday evening and authorities have yet to identify any suspects.
A press conference is scheduled for Wednesday.
Idaho victims often ‘hosted parties with lots of people coming in and out of the house,’ neighbours say
Wednesday 23 November 2022 07:00 , Andrea Blanco
Moscow resident Heather Tetwiler told Fox News that the slain students — Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Moge, 21, — would host typical college gatherings, but that the residence was “not necessarily a party house.”
“They had like small gatherings, maybe like ten people or so and it never really got crazy other than the usual college stuff but they were pretty respectful,” Ms Tetwiler said.
Moscow police have reiterated that there were no signs of forced entry into the six-bedroom home.
Investigators continue to piece together what happened in the early morning hours of 13 November and the circumstances surrounding the brutal fatal stabbings.
The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has more:
Slain Idaho students often ‘hosted parties’ in their rental home, neighbours say
‘Private party’ who drove Kaylee and Maddie home is ruled out, new details about 911 call revealed
Wednesday 23 November 2022 06:00 , Andrea Blanco
Moscow police announced on Saturday that an anonymous “private party” drove Goncalves and Mogen home.
“At this time, detectives have investigated the private party driver who took Kaylee and Madison home on November 13th and do not believe he is involved in this crime,” the department wrote on its Facebook page on Sunday.
The briefing also contained new details about the role of the victims’ two surviving roommates, who were likely home at the time of the murder.
The surviving individuals arrived back at home around 1am, according to police.
They are not suspects in the investigations and are “not necessarily” considered suspects, police have said.
However, once the roommates were home, they fell asleep and didn’t wake up until “later on November 13th,” Moscow police said, helping to explain why police were not called until noon later that day.
The murders took pace sometime between 3am and 4am.
The 911 call was “made from inside the residence on one of the roommates’ cell phones,” police added.
They had “summoned friends to the residence” because they believed one of the victims had passed out.
Killer was ‘sloppy’ and left behind overwhelming evidence, parents say
Wednesday 23 November 2022 05:00 , Andrea Blanco
Steve and Kristi Goncalves, whose daughter Kaylee was among the four killed at an off-campus house, said they’ve heard from police that the crime scene is sprawling and chaotic.
The investigation last week is moving slowly because the killer left behind a “mess” of evidence, according to Mr Goncalves.
“They’re telling us that there’s so much evidence that it’s going to take a lot of time to process it all,” Mr Goncalves told Fox News. “This wasn’t like a pinpoint crime. This person was sloppy.”
The victims’ bodies were found at noon on 13 November, after two surviving roommates called 911.
Autopsies conducted last week determined that Kaylee, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were all stabbed to death with a “large knife.”
The Independent’s Josh Marcus has the story:
Idaho murder victim’s parents say police struggling with ‘mess’ of evidence
Six hundred tips. No suspects or witnesses
Wednesday 23 November 2022 04:00 , Andrea Blanco
The Independent’s Sheila Flynn reports from on the ground in Idaho that the investigation has been compounded by changing stories from law enforcement and wild social media speculation that has seeped into the local rumour mill.
In her latest report, she writes: “Almost everything that happened in that residence after 1.45am last Sunday still remains a mystery ...”
“The investigation has already included 646 tips, 90 interviews and more than 130 members of law enforcement, authorities said Sunday. “
“The FBI alone had 44 people working on the murders, including two members of the Behavioural Analysis Unit – the criminal profiling unit made famous by Criminal Minds.”
Read Sheila’s full coverage of the story:
No suspect, weapon or witnesses: The Idaho murder mystery that’s stumped police
Idaho police investigating whether victim had a stalker
Wednesday 23 November 2022 03:40 , Sravasti Dasgupta
The Moscow Police Department said that it has “looked extensively” into reports that murder victim Kaylee Goncalves may have complained of a stalker.
“Investigators have looked extensively into information they received about Kaylee Goncalves having a stalker. They have pursued hundreds of pieces of information related to this topic and have not been able to verify or identify a stalker,” the department wrote on Facebook on Tuesday night.
Sheila Flynn reports from Moscow, Idaho:
Idaho police are investigating whether victim had a stalker
Xana Kernodle was ‘a strong woman who worked hard for what she wanted,’ sister says
Wednesday 23 November 2022 03:00 , Andrea Blanco
Jazzmin Kernodle is a better person because of her sister, Xana, she wrote in an Instagram post last week.
The sisters would have silly fights in the halls of their high school, Jazzmin recalls, only to make up and get closer with each fight.
Xana was the “life of the party, a dancing queen,” but also the friend who would light up a room and offer and encourage her loved ones to enjoy life to the full.
“I know Xana never let an opportunity pass her by, and she was so happy whenever I saw her ... She was someone that was always worth recording because who knew what funny thing she was going to say or do next,” Jazzmin recounted in her post.
Jazzmin remembers Xana as a strong young woman who “worked hard for what she wanted,” a sentiment that was echoed by their father, Jeffrey Kernodle.
Mr Kernodle described Xana as a “tough kid,” telling CBS how investigators informed him that she had defensive wounds and likely fought her attacker until her death.
The killings of Xana, her boyfriend Ethan Chapin and her roommates Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen have rocked the town of Moscow, but have also brought the community together in remembering the lives taken on 13 November.
Several memorials and tributes have already taken place and more are planned for the victims.
A timeline of the brutal murders that shocked Moscow, Idaho
Wednesday 23 November 2022 02:00 , Andrea Blanco
A week on from the murders, much remains a mystery surrounding the circumstances of the horrific stabbings of Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21.
Officials believe the students were killed sometime between 3am and 4am on 13 November.
Law enforcement was called to the home on King Road at 11.58am on Sunday after a 911 call came in alerting them to “an unconscious individual”.
The call was made from the cellphone of one of the surviving roommates but police have refused to confirm the identity of the caller.
Authorities have since revealed that all four victims were stabbed to death with an “edged weapon such as a knife” – though the murder weapon has not been found.
The Independent’s Io Dodds and Rachel Sharp have an updated timeline of the developments in the case:
Timeline: What we know so far about the murder of four University of Idaho students
