MOSCOW, Idaho — Police in Moscow, Idaho, are dealing with an influx of people concerned for their safety as the investigation into the quadruple homicide involving four local college students extends into its third week.
As of Sunday, the Moscow Police Department has seen a surge in calls from people reporting “unusual circumstances” or requesting wellness checks on loved ones in the weeks since the discovery of the murders of four University of Idaho students. on November 13. Police have received 78 calls for unusual circumstances. circumstances and 36 requests for police to conduct a wellness check, up from 70 and 18, respectively, they received throughout October, the department said in a Sunday news release.
Police are also sounding the alarm about a trend in which callers notify their friends or family before calling officers to respond, authorities said.
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“We understand that there is a sense of fear within our community,” police said. “For life safety and emergencies, we want to remind our community to call 9-1-1 before notifying family or friends.”
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University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, 20; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Madison Mogen, 21, were stabbed multiple times and killed in the early hours of November 13, authorities said. Police have not identified any suspects and have not recovered a murder weapon.
Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, along with the two other roommates of the women in Kaylee Goncalves’ latest Instagram post, shared the day before the murders.
(@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
Similar to the trend described by police on Sunday, concerned friends of the foursome called other people at the home before notifying police.
Moscow police received a call shortly before noon on November 13 with a report of an “unconscious person” at the King Road home, but several people had gathered at the crime scene when police arrived, authorities said. .
The house where four University of Idaho students were murdered on November 13. This photo illustrates
(Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
According to police, the 911 call “originated from inside the residence” and came from the cell phones of one of the surviving roommates. Police said multiple people spoke to the dispatcher before officers arrived.
Investigators determined that all four were likely stabbed in their sleep sometime between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., having returned home from a night out. Some of the victims appeared to have tried to defend themselves.
State Police forensics search for clues in Moscow, Idaho, Monday, November 21, 2022. Four University of Idaho students who were murdered on November 13 in this home.
(Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
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The four victims are believed to have been killed with a single “fixed blade knife”, police said.
Two other roommates were inside the house, on the lower floor, at the time of the murders, but were unharmed.
Flowers at a makeshift memorial at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, on Monday, November 21, 2022, for four of its students who were killed on November 13.
(Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Authorities called the attack “targeted” but did not say who the intended victim was.
Police said Sunday that they had received more than 488 “digital media submissions” through the FBI website.
Idaho State Police Col. Kedrick Wills said investigators had collected 103 pieces of evidence from the crime scene and taken approximately 4,000 photos as of Wednesday.
Victims of the November 13 massacre at the University of Idaho.
(Instagram @xanakernodle / @maddiemogen / @kayleegoncalves)
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“We have performed multiple 3D scans of the residence, and have hundreds of hours of use by technicians and investigators, including our multi-agency detective and forensic teams,” Wills continued.
He added that investigators had processed “more than a thousand leads and conducted 150 interviews.”
Meanwhile, authorities said late Tuesday that investigators had received information that Goncalves may have had a stalker. Investigators “exhaustively examined” those reports and “have searched hundreds of pieces of information” related to the stalker’s trail.
Police named the four victims of an apparent quadruple homicide at the University of Idaho as Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Kaylee GonCalves.
(Moscow City Police Department/Instagram)
As of Wednesday, they had not been able to confirm the information or identify a stalker. Moscow police captain Roger Lanier added that police learned during interviews that Goncalves “had made some comments about a stalker.”
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“And we’ve continued to look at specific time frames and specific areas of the city,” he continued. “Until now, we have not been able to corroborate it. But we have not finished investigating that information.”
Idaho Governor Brad Little has since allocated up to $1 million for the ongoing investigation.
The Moscow Police Department encourages the public to submit any images or information that they believe might be important or useful to their investigation. They can do so by calling 208-883-7180, submitting suggestions via tipline@ci.moscow.id.us, and submitting digital media here.
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The authorities also created a dedicated web page related to the King Road attack.
