Idaho murders – live: 911 call hours after university student stabbings came from roommate’s phone – The Independent

It’s been a week since four University of Idaho students were brutally killed in their home, and police still haven’t found a suspect or a murder weapon.

That’s because the assailant left behind a “mess” of evidence, according to the parents of one victim, Kaylee Goncalves.

“They’re telling us that there’s so much evidence that it’s going to take a lot of time to process it all,” her father Steve told Fox News on Saturday. “This wasn’t like a pinpoint crime. This person was sloppy.”

The killer “made a mess. And there’s a mess there. And they’re gonna have to go through that point by point and that’s going to take a lot of time. That’s why they reached out to other facilities to help them with that lab work,” he added.

Idaho police have ruled out an ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man captured on a food truck’s web camera, and two college roomates as suspects in the shocking 13 November murder of four University of Idaho students.

Families, friends, and community members are still searching for answers in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, in what police believe was an attack with a “large knife.”

Initial efforts focused on investigating a man captured in surveillance footage as Mogen and Goncalves stopped in the early morning at a food truck shortly before returning to the shared home where the three women, who lived together, and Chapin, who was dating Kernodle, were killed.

Police also questioned the women’s two roommates who were home when the slayings took place, as well as what officials described as an “ex-boyfriend” of one of the victims.

The Independent’s Sheila Flynn arrived in Moscow, Idaho, on Saturday evening.

Here’s what she found:

“On Saturday night in Moscow, the university campus was deserted. Popular hotspots for dates and socializing like Applebee’s and Buffalo Wild Wings were quiet, serving only a handful of tables at a time; even on Main Street, only the odd couple could be seen scurrying from their cars to eateries in the bitter Idaho cold.

“Outside of Mad Greek restaurant, where Kernodle and Mogen had worked for years, four large candles were kept burning, each bearing the name of one of the victims, surrounded by smaller votives, flowers and cards.

“As has become tragically customary in the wake of American atrocities, local businesses and fast-food joints had changed their signs advertising specials to messages of support for the community and the Vandals of UI.

“Few people were openly talking about the murders; one student told The Independent that, while locals seemed reluctant to discuss the topic in person, they were sharing far more openly online or via messaging. But local gossip has been as fragmented and contradictory as the reports from authorities.

“There was an eerie stillness after darkness on Saturday; driving through the victims’ neighbourhood and Moscow itself, there were few, if any, cars on the roads. Many students had already left town early for Thanksgiving after last weekend’s brutal slaughter – and there’s a question mark over how many will return.”

Moscow Police are set to provide an update on the University of Idaho murders today – marking one week since the bodies of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were discovered stabbed to death at an off-campus home.

A press conference is scheduled for 3pm local time Sunday.

It comes as investigators have faced mounting pressure to solve the case which has rocked the small college town.

The Moscow Police Department statement from Saturday night – nearly one week on from the brutal killings – offered several new details and clarifications on previous claims.

Here it is in full:

• At this time, detectives have investigated the private party driver who took Kaylee and Madison home on November 13th and do not believe he is involved in this crime.

• Detectives believe that on November 12th, the two surviving roommates had been out in the Moscow community, separately, but returned home by 1 a.m. The two did not wake up until later on November 13th.

• Initially, the 911 call made at 11:58 a.m. on November 13th requested aid for an unconscious person. The call was made from inside the residence on one of the roommates’ cell phone. Moscow Police Department arrived shortly thereafter and found all four victims.

• Detectives confirm the victims were located on the second and third floors of the residence.

• Detectives are aware of multiple phone calls from victims Madison and Kaylee to a male. This information is part of the ongoing investigation.

• Detectives are seeking all outside surveillance video taken from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Sunday November 13, 2022, from businesses and residences within the geographical area below. Detectives are requesting all available video – whether there appears to be motion and content or not. Tips, pictures, and videos can be submitted to tipline@ci.moscow.id.us or call the Tip Line at 208-883-7180 for assistance.

In a clarification note, the department wrote: “The cell phone used to call 911 belonged to one of the surviving roommates. Due to the ongoing investigation, the identity of the caller has not been released.”

In Saturday’s update, Moscow Police announced that the previously described “private party” who drove Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen home from a night out hours before they were killed has been ruled out as a suspect.

“At this time, detectives have investigated the private party driver who took Kaylee and Madison home on November 13th and do not believe he is involved in this crime,” police said.

The clarification came hours after police changed their acccount of how Goncalves and Mogen were taken home in the hours before the stabbings.

Initially, police said Goncalves and Mogen took an Uber back to the off-campus rental where they were slain in the early hours of the morning.

Uber, however, has pointed out that the police had since changed their phrasing in updates to describe the ride occuring with a “private party” rather than a hired car.

“This is a gruesome and heartbreaking tragedy,” Uber Communications Manager Navideh Forghani told Fox News Digital. “It looks like Moscow Police updated the release to say a ‘private party.’ We have no record of the victims ordering a trip.”

No details about the “private party” have been publicised.

Moscow Police revealed on Saturday evening that the four victims – Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin – were found across two different floors of the 1122 King Road residence.

Authorities said the bodies were found on both the second and third floors of the home.

Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt previously said that the four victims were all found in their beds when police responded to a 911 call at the property around midday Sunday and came across the horrific scene.

The location of the bodies and the time of the murders has led officials to believe Chapin, 20, Mogen, 21, Kernodle, 20, and Goncalves, 21, may have been asleep when the violent attack unfolded.

“It was late at night or early in the morning so it seems likely maybe they were sleeping,” she said.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has more:

The Moscow Police Department has confirmed that the 911 call which led to the discovery of four slain students was made from the phone of one of their roommates.

Authorities had previously refused to give any details about who placed the call about an “unconscious person” at the home on 13 November.

The call came in at 11.58am – hours after the killings were thought to have taken place between 3am and 4am.

Victims Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle – who was dating the fourth victim Ethan Chapin – shared the home with two roommates who police said were there at the time of the stabbings but apparently were unaware of the violence.

In an update on Friday night, police said that the 911 call came from the phone of one of the roommates but emphasised: “Due to the ongoing investigation, the identity of the caller has not been released.”

Investigators have previously said that the surviving roommates – who have not been publicly named – have been ruled out as suspects but could “hold the key” to solving the case.

Ethan Chapin’s last day was spent with his siblings, dressed up and dancing.

Chapin — one of four University of Idaho students stabbed to death last weekend, the police still searching for a killer — was a triplet. His brother and sister also attend the scenic state school tucked away in the rolling hills of north-central Idaho.

“He was our our daughter Maizie’s date, and his brother was Maizie’s roommates date,” Chapin’s mother, Stacy Chapin, said in an interview Wednesday. The group was attending a dance hosted by Maizie’s sorority. “They all spent their last day together, all dressed up, and had a great time. We’re all thankful that they spent that time together.”

Ethan Chapin captured photos of the event on his phone, but the family has yet to see them. The device is being held by law enforcement as potential evidence in the homicide investigation.

Rebecca Boone has more.

Kaylee Goncalves’s sister Aubrie Goncalves issued an impassioned plea on her Instagram page, warning students in the small town of Moscow, Idaho, that they are not safe while her sibling’s “sicko” killer remains at large.

“To the students of the University of Idaho that are still staying around campus, leave,” she wrote.

“Your grades are severely less important than your lives. I wish all the students of U of I safety and peace. You guys are not safe until this sicko is found.

Rachel Sharp has the details.