Idaho law enforcement officials overseeing the violent slayings of four local college students 10 days ago are asking the public for patience as they review more than 1,000 leads and thousands of photos, plus more than 100 pieces of evidence, authorities said Wednesday. Wednesday.
“We all want to understand why this happened and what led someone to do this,” Moscow, Idaho Police Chief James Fry told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
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.
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Moscow police received a call just before noon on November 13 about a report of an “unconscious person” at the King Road house. Several other people had gathered at the crime scene when police arrived, authorities said.
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.
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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.
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Police named the four victims of an apparent quadruple homicide at the University of Idaho as Maddie Mogen, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Kaylee Goncalves.
(Instagram: @maddiemogen, @kayleegoncalves, @ethanchapin4)
All four victims are believed to have been killed with a single “fixed blade knife”, which has yet to be recovered.
Two other roommates were inside the house, on the lower floor, at the time of the murders, but were unharmed.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Idaho State Police Col. Kedrick Wills said he understood the public wants answers, but said “they take time.”
After the police department’s initial response to the scene, investigators and a forensic team were brought in to process the scene for any possible evidence, Wills said.
“We’re collecting biological evidence, we’re collecting latent evidence, whether it’s shoe prints or tire marks or something like that,” he said. “We do it through photographs. We do it through 3D maps to be able to map the scene.”
University of Idaho victims Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle.
(Instagram: @ethanchapin4)
Investigators then package up the evidence and move it to forensic labs for further analysis, he said.
“This all takes an immense amount of time,” he said. “While this is such a tragic circumstance that we find ourselves in, in law enforcement, we believe that we owe it to the surviving families to make this right.”
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Goncalves and Mogen considered themselves sisters.
(Friend of Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen)
Investigators collected 103 pieces of evidence from the crime scene and took approximately 4,000 photos, Wills said.
“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.”
State police forensics search for clues in Moscow, Idaho, on Monday.
(Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“We have the utmost confidence in this investigation and that this investigation will be done correctly,” he said. “We ask you and the public to be patient as this investigation unfolds.”
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.
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.”
“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.”
The researchers are asking the public to share “all external surveillance video taken between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Sunday, November 13, 2022, from businesses and residences within” a specified area. Below is a map of the area.
MPD had assigned four detectives, 24 patrol officers and five criminal investigative support staff. The FBI has 22 investigators in Moscow, 20 agents in other areas of the US, and two agents from the Behavioral Analysis Unit working on the case.
The Idaho State Police deployed 20 investigators, 15 state troopers, a public information officer and a forensic services team to the scene, as well as 15 uniformed officers to assist with other patrols.
A general view of the house at 1122 King Rd., Moscow, Idaho on Monday.
(Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
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The authorities also created a dedicated web page related to the King Road attack.
“We are asking anyone who has information related to what happened with these four in our community, their interaction with others, and whether they expressed concern or commented on someone or something strange to provide us with that information,” Chief Fry said Wednesday. “Even if you don’t think it’s relevant, the researchers will review and determine if and how your data builds the picture.”
He added: “Sometimes what a video or image doesn’t show is just as important as what might be there.”
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 or by sending suggestions to tipline@ci.moscow.id.us.
