MOSCOW, Idaho – Fox News contributor and retired Washington, DC homicide detective Ted Williams says Idaho police should have released information about a white sedan seen near the scene of a Nov. 13 quadruple homicide near from the University of Idaho campus “immediately” instead of three weeks after the fact.
“I am not being critical of the application of the law. What I’m saying is, you need to engage the public to help you with an investigation of this nature,” Williams told Fox News Digital. “And when you learn of a white car that you can’t identify, you don’t wait two or three weeks to release that information to the public. You get the public involved right away.”
On December 7, the Moscow Police Department asked the public for help in searching for a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra that was seen near the off-campus house where students Ethan Chapin, Xana Kerndole, Kaylee Goncalves and Maidson Mogen were killed. stabbed to death between 3 am and 4 am on November 13.
Fox News Digital learned last week, however, that Moscow detectives contacted landlord Kane Francetich on November 14, asking for recorded surveillance footage from his six-unit rental building on Linda Lane, which is 0.3 miles from the crime scene, showing a light-colored car driving at the time of the murders.
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Detectives in Moscow, Idaho are interested in speaking with the occupants of a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra, with unknown license plate, in connection with the investigation of a quadruple homicide on November 13, 2022.
(Moscow DP)
“The mere fact that within 24 hours of the murder of these four college students, they were able to identify that there was a [white or light-colored] car in the vicinity that they needed to try to identify – don’t wait three weeks,” Williams said of the Francetich footage. He immediately puts that information out to the public. Every nugget of information collected by law enforcement will not be worth it. … When it comes to evidence of a car that was in the neighborhood, you may need to act on that information immediately.”
It’s unclear exactly when police learned of a white sedan driving near the crime scene during the time of the murders. Moscow police did not immediately respond to a query from Fox News Digital.
Front view of the Moscow, Idaho house where four college students were killed near campus.
(Adam Sabes/Fox News Digital)
Williams noted that in homicide cases, authorities typically have a “48-hour window to try and process the evidence that will bring the killer to justice,” otherwise the longer investigators wait for help from the public, the more Your investigation will be difficult. .
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“Law enforcement is trying to solve this crime, and I think they will solve it, hopefully sooner rather than later. However, when you have evidence that the public can help you with, even while you’re dealing with the integrity of the investigation , you bring the public on board,” Williams said of the Francetich footage. “I see absolutely no reason to keep that car in check.”
The former DC detective also criticized the fact that a Moscow gas station attendant found video footage of a white sedan passing police in the early hours of November 13.
Fox News Digital has learned that on November 14 detectives collected eight hours of video surveillance from a gas station a mile away from the crime scene. An employee saw a white sedan drive by at 3:45 a.m. the night of the unsolved stabbing deaths, according to store workers.
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“There is absolutely no way that law enforcement, knowing that there very well may be video in the area, would have a gas station employee look through video for valuable information that law enforcement needs,” Williams said. “The first thing you do in law enforcement is get all the video you can in that area, and a law enforcement officer, an experienced law enforcement officer, goes through all the video to try to determine if they can identify if they believe Let’s say it’s a white car.
Victims of the November 13 massacre at the University of Idaho.
(Instagram @xanakernodle / @maddiemogen / @kayleegoncalves)
Williams, who has been following the case since news of the tragedy broke, believes that “the person or persons who killed these students have been in that house before” and that “it was the first time they entered that house.” November 1st. 13
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Exactly 36 days after the four students were murdered at their home near campus between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on November 13, police have not announced any suspects or persons of interest in the case.
Authorities continue to search for a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra that was seen near the crime scene on King Road in Moscow in the early hours of that Sunday morning.
State Police forensics search for clues in Moscow, Idaho, Monday, November 21, 2022.
(Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
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Police believe that the occupants of that vehicle may have important information related to the murders. Officials are asking anyone with information to submit digital media evidence to the FBI at fbi.gov/moscowidaho.
Authorities are asking the public to call for leads 208-883-7180, E-mail tipline@ci.moscow.id.us or send digital media here.
Rebecca Rosenberg and Michael Ruiz of Fox News contributed to this report.
