MOSCOW, Idaho – The killer of four University of Idaho students who attacked them in their beds last month remains at large four weeks after a group of fellow students called 911.
Moscow, Idaho police say Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, were murdered in a rental house on King Road, a short walk from campus, between 3 and 4 am on November 13.
Police have not publicly named any suspects or persons of interest, but say they are receiving “good advice and leads” despite no reward being offered in the case. Especially after they released new details Wednesday when they asked the public for help finding the occupant or occupants of a white 2011 to 2013 Hyundai Elantra seen near the victims’ home at the time of the murders.
Police say anyone in the Elantra may have “critical information to share” in the case.
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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)
Asked why not and if one was in the works, police spokeswoman Robbie Johnson said police were already working on a steady stream of information about the quadruple homicide.
“Investigators continue to get good tips and leads and are focusing on that right now,” he told Fox News Digital.
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In fact, after announcing that they were looking for information on the Elantra, police said they received so many calls that they asked the FBI to handle them.
Detectives in Moscow, Idaho are interested in speaking with the occupants of a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra, with unknown registration, in connection with the investigation of a quadruple homicide on November 13, 2022. This image is not the car in question, it is for reference only.
(Moscow DP)
“The global call center has the resources to take those calls, categorize them and send them to investigators, so they can use those tips in the investigation,” the Moscow Police Department said on Thursday.
SEE: Moscow, Idaho, Police Chief James Fry talks about the search for a white vehicle
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Beyond that, details are scant, but at this point, police are probably moving quietly behind closed doors, according to Joe Giacalone, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a former NYPD sergeant.
However, a reward can incentivize people to come forward with information that is not available to investigators at the crime scene or through other forensic efforts.
PHOTO GALLERY
“The idea behind the bounty is to post it initially because you’re looking for someone specific, who came home for the holidays and might have had some bruises or cuts or something else,” he told Fox News Digital. “The guy who doesn’t like everyone is sitting at the Thanksgiving table and he looks at the kid and says, ‘Something’s wrong here.'”
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The Moscow Police Department, Idaho.
(Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Pat Diaz, a private investigator and former Miami-Dade homicide detective, worked on a high-profile child murder in the 1990s that resulted in an arrest and conviction after one of those tips came through.
“One lucky lead, with all these detectives, will help you crack the case,” he told Fox News Digital.
Months after Jimmy Ryce was kidnapped on his way home from school in 1995, his landlady and employer began to suspect he had stolen from her. When he searched his trailer, he found inside the missing boy’s backpack and his missing gun, which had been used to kill the boy.
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Fall graduates from the University of Idaho sit at their commencement ceremony on Saturday, December 10, 2022. An estimated 25% to 40% of the school’s 11,500-person population did not return to in-person learning after Thanksgiving following the unsolved murders of four students in a house just steps from campus.
(Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“She saw the flyer with my name and the reward on it and [found] a backpack,” he told Fox News Digital on Saturday. “So [she] I call.”
Juan Carlos Chávez, 46, was arrested. He confessed, led the police to the boy’s body, and was later executed.
“I would give the reward now that they still have staff,” said Paul Mauro, a lawyer and retired NYPD inspector who has been closely following the case.
The number of investigators assigned to the task force will decrease over time, and he is concerned that if a reward is offered at the end of the process, there may not be enough manpower left to “sort the wheat out of the chaff.”
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“When it starts to slow down, it’s not the time to offer a reward,” he said. You won’t have the bodies to investigate the clues.
Anyone with information is asked to call the tip line at 208-883-7180 or email tipline@ci.moscow.id.us. Digital media can be submitted at fbi.gov/moscowidaho.
