Idaho State Police and the students killed in an off-campus home in Moscow: The case of a young man with a knife is not a threat to the public
The police have not arrested anyone in the killings of four college students at the University of Idaho but are making progress, according to an outside public information officer.
The picture of what transpired takes a while to be pieced together according to the communications director for Idaho State Police. “A lot of this the public doesn’t get to see because it’s a criminal investigation. But I am sure that there is so much work being done behind the scenes.
The deaths in an off-campus home of two young men in a small college town of Moscow shocked the nation. The case created fear and anxiety among the community and student body, as well as questions about the police investigation.
The information in the case will eventually be used for prosecution and cannot be put into the public eye, at risk of slowing the justice at the very end.
Moscow police initially told the public that the attack was targeted, with no further threat to the public. But by day four, Police Chief Jason Fry adjusted that statement: “We cannot say that there is no threat to the community.”
The Moscow Police Department had no dedicated public information staff when they initially responded to the crime scene, and this may have led to the off messaging.
In addition to the hundreds of leads, police are also combing through large files of surveillance footage submitted by residents of the early morning hours when police believe the murders happened.
Other angles are taking longer to investigate. It is believed a fixed-blade knife may have been used in the attack on the students and to aid in the investigation law enforcement asked local businesses to come forward with evidence. No local businesses have provided information about whether the knife was purchased or obtained.
It is advisable for people to lock their doors, walk in pairs, and be aware of what they are doing. There is somebody or some people out there somewhere that are murderers, and we want to find them and bring them to justice,” Snell said.
Police did not find out how many people were in the house at the time of the killings, and whether or not the surviving roommates were in the house.
The Effect of a Stalled Student on the Public Sentiment in Idaho’s High School Students’ Learning, and Police Efforts to Disturb the Case
The university decided to allow students to finish the semester either in-person or remotely when they give feedback on how they want to proceed after the break, according to the president.
The University of Idaho has asked professors to give their students the option of in-person and remote learning so that they can decide their method of engagement for the final two weeks of the semester. It’s not advisable to move courses full online, but may be necessary in limited situations.
Moscow police Chief James Fry said last week that he wanted to give those things back to the families so they could be helped with their healing. “I’m a dad, I understand the meaning behind some of those things.”
“As people are out there and they’re talking about this case, the public sentiment changes,” Snell said. “They’re confused. They’re upset. We want to make sure that the truth is out there, and we also want to make sure that there are no rumors.
Investigators looked “extensively” into hundreds of pieces of information about victim Kaylee Goncalves having a stalker, but “have not been able to verify or identify a stalker,” police said in a Facebook post Tuesday.
Coroner Pete Lanier tells the story of three December 13 stabbing victims in a Moscow, Idaho, dog-infested house
Two surviving roommates summoned friends to the house because they thought one of the victims had passed out and was not breathing, police said in a release. One of the surviving roommates called for help when they heard a noise in the house at 12:14 a.m.
Moscow Police said on Monday that the dog that was found at the house of the stabbings, was turned over to an animal services and then released to a responsible party.
The students, Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20; were likely asleep when they were each stabbed multiple times in the early morning hours of November 13, authorities have said. Some of the victims had defensive wounds, a coroner has said.
Many residents and victims’ loved ones are still on edge as authorities have kept many details from the public, saying they are protecting the integrity of the investigation.
“We’re not releasing specific details because we do not want to compromise this investigation. It’s what we have to do. We owe that to the families, and we owe that to the victims. We want more than an arrest, we want a conviction.
Lanier’s remarks come as hundreds of University of Idaho students are taking final exams this week before the fall semester ends and investigators comb through more than 6,000 tips they’ve received in the case.
The Idaho Student Killings: An Investigation into the White Hyundai Elantra Homes in Bozema Heights, Idaho
“So far, we have a list of approximately 22,000 registered white Hyundai Elantras that fit into our criteria that we’re sorting through,” Chief James Fry said in a video update. “We are confident that the occupant or occupants of that vehicle have information that’s critical to this investigation.”
We believe the occupant or people close to them may have seen something. They may not know they have seen something,” Lanier said Monday, noting investigators want to speak with whoever was in the car.
In the investigation, she pointed out that everyone should be aware of their surroundings and that they should not walk in dark places.
“The FBI is prioritizing and vetting those tips for use in the investigation. The public is asked to continue to use the Tip Line to report any information about the vehicle,” police said in a news release.
The investigation into the homicides is being handled by dozens working around the clock across the local police department, the FBI and the Idaho State Police.
“We have teams in Moscow, Salt Lake City and in Virginia as well as other locations across the country. And we’re prepared to do interviews and follow up on information at any point anywhere,” Lanier said.
And while the home remains a crime scene being monitored by a contracted private security company, authorities last week began returning some of the victims’ belongings to their family.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/13/us/university-of-idaho-student-killings-month-later/index.html
Is there a link between the September argument on the bike path and the killings of two students at a college student’s house?
The result of social media propagation, is that it is a distraction for investigators when they try to track down and quell rumors about specific individuals or specific events. “It is very, very frustrating to investigators and hard to stay on track.”
Police have previously dismissed online rumors that the victims were tied and gagged.
Police reassured the public that there is no connection between the students killings and the September argument on the University of Idaho bike path.
The person listed on the lease of the residence that was the scene of the killings has been eliminated as a suspect.
“They have spoken to this individual and confirmed they moved out prior to the start of the school year and was not present at the time of the incident. Detectives do not believe this person has any involvement in the murders,” Moscow police said.
Two of the victims, including Mogen, were driven home by someone after they purchased food from a truck hours before they were killed.
The mother of a college student killed near the University of Idaho expressed her disappointment with the police communications regarding the investigation.
It is not easy to sleep at night. It’s feeling sick to your stomach. It is only being left in the dark that is making it worse, said the mother of the 21-year-old victim in an interview.
She described how they were running around without knowing what was happening. People called us to find out. And the sheriff showed up about three hours later.”
The Moscow Police Department has a bad job of communicating with families, says the attorney for the Goncalves-Brown-Douglas mother
The Moscow Police Department has done a poor job of communicating with families, according to the attorney for Goncalves.
“My first thought just started being like, how long have they had this information? Where do they get this information? Was it on a camera at the time? He said that Goncalves said.
The Moscow Police Department told CNN that they reached out to her attorney on the day of their request for the public to get information about the white sedan. Authorities are sorting through tens of thousands of registered vehicles that fit the criteria of one spotted near the residence the night of the attacks, the Moscow Police Department said in a news release Thursday.
Goncalves said her family learned graphic details of their daughter’s autopsy when a woman from the coroner’s office called and asked her 17-year-old daughter if she wanted to know the findings.
“Every time we turn around, there’s another, there’s a new – I don’t know if they’re new or they’re old – I’m just coming across them, and I’m just like, oh, my gosh, how many of these did she do?” The man said, “Goncalves.”
Moscow, Idaho, Associated Post-Security Crimes Investigation with a Global Call Center for Crime Scene Diagnosis of the Slayings
Moscow, Idaho has been appalled by the information provided by the thousands of tips police have received in the case.
Due to the amount of tips received, calls are being directed to an FBI call center to help sort leads received, according to a Thursday update from the Moscow Police Department.
“The global call center has the resources to take those calls, categorize them, and send them on to investigators so they can utilize those tips in the investigation,” the department said.
Dozens of local, state and federal investigators have yet to identify a suspect or find the murder weapon used in the attack last month in the small college town of Moscow. investigators do not share details of the investigation as that could compromise it
The arrest comes a day after police said they have received about 20,000 tips through more than 9,025 emails, 4,575 phone calls, and 6,050 digital media submissions, while having conducted over 300 interviews.
Chief James Fry said in a brief video statement that it was time for them to give the items back that really mean something to the families.
Fry understands the meaning behind some of the things. The items being removed are “no longer needed for the investigation,” the department said.
Investigators believe all four victims had been out in the hours before the killings – two at a Moscow bar, the other two at a fraternity house – but had returned to the home by 2 a.m. on the day of the stabbings.
Police found two victims on the second floor and two victims on the third floor. There was no sign of forced entry or damage, police said.
A coroner determined the four victims were stabbed multiple times and likely had been asleep when the attacks began, police have said. The manner and cause of death were homicides, the coroner said.
A man appeared to be following Goncalves outside a local business and was arrested at the Newtowntown, Pennsylvania, airport on October 30, 2015
Police outlined a situation in October when a man appeared to be following Goncalves outside a local business, according to a news release from the department. The man and his associate are trying to meet women at the business, and additional investigation by the police showed they were doing it.
The name was confirmed to CNN by a federal law enforcement source as well as a court source in Pennsylvania, where records show Kohberger was arrested and arraigned Friday morning. An official with the state said the arraignment was in Monroe County.
The FBI and Pennsylvania State Police made an arrest in the case, a law enforcement source told CNN.
According to the update, Moscow police work with a property management services company to remove harmful substances used to collect evidence. The property management company will take ownership of the home.