Four college students were killed around 3 or 4 a.m. Sunday in Moscow, Idaho, but authorities have yet to narrow down a motive, which could include a “robbery gone wrong” or a “crime of passion.” according to Mayor Art Bettge.
“It’s one of a myriad of possibilities, including robbery gone wrong, robbery gone wrong…any one of those is a possibility and not one to the exclusion of others,” Bettge told Fox News Digital on Monday.
Moscow Police Department officers responded to a report of an unconscious person around noon at his home on King Road, which is just off Greek Row and just blocks from the University of Idaho campus.
Investigators search a home in Moscow, Idaho, on Monday, November 14, 2022, where four University of Idaho students were killed over the weekend in an apparent quadruple homicide.
(Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
The victims were identified Monday as Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Ariz.; and Kaylee GonCalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho.
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Chapin, a freshman majoring in recreation, sports and tourism administration, was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, which is located approximately 500 feet from the home where the homicides occurred.
General view of the Sigma Chi House in Moscow, Idaho, on Monday, November 14, 2022. Visible in the background, just to the left of the roof, is the house where four University of Idaho students, including the brother of Sigma Chi Fraternity, Ethan Chapin. overnight.
(Derek Shook for Fox New Digital)
Kernodle was a junior majoring in marketing and a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, while Mogen was a senior majoring in marketing and Goncalves a senior majoring in general studies.
IDAHO POLICE NAMES 4 COLLEGE STUDENTS KILLED IN APPARENT QUADRUPLE MURDER NEAR CAMPUS
The four victims appeared to be friends based on their interactions on social media and had posted a photo with other friends on Saturday, just hours before they were found dead.
University of Idaho victims Kaylee Goncalves and Maddie Mogen.
(Instagram: @maddiemogen, @kayleegoncalves)
University of Idaho victims Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle.
(Instagram: @ethanchapin4)
Officers could be seen carrying boxes of evidence in and out of the home as they searched the scene Monday.
Police do not have a suspect in custody, but Bettge said there is no ongoing threat to the community based on the timing of the incident.
“The crime itself occurred at three or four in the morning. Police were informed at noon,” Bettge said Monday. “If there was going to be a crime wave, it probably would have been perpetuated over that period of time.”
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Residents of Moscow, a city of about 25,000 in northern Idaho on the Washington state border, were stunned as police investigate.
“The university and the city are integrated in many ways. And the fate of one resonates very strongly with the other,” Bettge said. “This is a huge shock, especially as it relates to students, who are just coming out of two years of social isolation during COVID.”
Investigators use a K-9 to search a house where four college students were killed over the weekend in Moscow, Idaho.
(Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Police cordoned off the house where four University of Idaho students were killed over the weekend.
(Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
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The University of Idaho canceled classes Monday and will hold a candlelight vigil for the deceased students later this week.
“Words cannot adequately describe the light these students brought to this world or alleviate the depth of suffering we feel at their passing under these tragic circumstances,” University of Idaho President Scott Green said in a statement Monday. .
“No one feels that loss more than family and friends. The university is working directly with those affected and is committed to supporting all students, families and employees as this event truly touches all of us.”
Fox News’ Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
