Idaho murders – live: Kaylee Goncalves’ father reveals why crime scene left him thinking she could be ‘target’
The grieving father of one of the four University of Idaho students stabbed to death in their beds has spoken out to reveal why he thinks his daughter may have been the intended target of the brutal attack.
Kaylee Goncalves’s father Steve Goncalves said that the killer “chose” to go up to the third floor where his daughter and her best friend Madison Mogen were sleeping – a route that took the perpetrator out of the way of the entry point to the home.
“I’m using logic that he chose to go up there when he didn’t have to,” he told Lawrence Jones Cross Country, adding that Mogen and Goncalves’ means of death “don’t match”.
It is now three weeks since Goncalves, Mogen, their housemate Xana Kernodle and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin were murdered in an off-campus home in the college town of Moscow, Idaho, back on 13 November. No arrests have been made and no suspects have been identified.
At a memorial service over the weekend, the two surviving roommates who slept through the attack paid tribute to their murdered friends in an emotional statement.
Key points
Three weeks after murder, no suspects identified
Two roommates who survived stabbing frenzy break their silence
Father of Kaylee Goncalves says students’ ‘means of death’ do not match
Prosecutor admits it ‘could be while’ before killer is caught
Investigators are Seeking surveillance footage from “two areas of interest”
06:00 , Andrea Blanco
Businesses and homes within the geographical areas are being asked to share all outside surveillance video taken between 3am and 6am on 13 November – whether there appears to be motion and content or not.
The areas include: West Taylor Ave (north boundary), West Palouse River Dr (south boundary), Highway 95 south to the 2700 block of Highway 95 S (east boundary) and Arboretum & Botanical Garden (west boundary).
“Investigators have determined the two areas of interest within the city and have provided maps which are on our Facebook page and on our website,” Captain Lanier said on Sunday.
“And these are areas that they have canvassed for additional surveillance video and tips and have contacted several residents in the areas.”
Police have not revealed why they are honing in on those particular areas of the city.
The highway and arboretum are around the route that Kernodle and Chapin are likely to have taken to get from Sigma Chi to the off-campus home.
Victim’s father says he is not confident with police probe
05:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Steve Goncalves, the father of slain University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves, said that he has lost confidence in the police investigation into the deaths of four students.
“I do not feel confident,” Mr Goncalves told Fox & Friends on Sunday when asked about the probe.
“And that’s why I push the envelope and say a little bit more. I hate to be that guy, but, you know …everybody has a job and a role to play and this is my role as the parent.”
Victims were not tied and gagged, police say
05:00 , Andrea Blanco
Moscow Police previously debunked a false rumour circulating online that the four victims had been bound and gagged during the brutal attack.
“Online reports of the victims being tied and gagged are not accurate,” the department said in a press release.
Autopsies found that the four victims suffered multiple stab wounds and that some of them had defensive wounds.
The Latah County coroner said that they were found in bed and were likely sleeping when the attack unfolded. There was no signs of sexual assault.
Moscow police rule out ‘stalker’ incident connection to murders
04:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Police in Idaho have made new revelations about reports that Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four University of Idaho students killed last month, had a stalker.
The department in a statement on Facebook said they were aware of an “isolated” incident involving Goncalves and two men in October.
The men, who reportedly followed Goncalves into a business and as she returned to her car, are not believed to be involved in the murder, Moscow police said.
“In mid-October, two males were seen inside a local business; they parted ways, and one male appeared to follow Kaylee inside the business and as she exited to walk toward her car. The male turned away, and it did not appear he made any contact with her,” the post read.
Andrea Blanco reports.
Moscow police reveal victims’ ‘stalker’ incident, rule out connection to murders
No evidence on dog found inside the home by investigators
04:00 , Andrea Blanco
Moscow police also revealed on Monday that the dog found inside the home by investigators was in a room where the crimes had not been committed and evidence was not found on the pet.
“While the dog was in the house when officers arrived, it has not been determined where the dog was physically located when the murders took place,” the department said.
Three weeks into the investigation, no suspects have been identified and no murder weapon has been found. Authorities have remained largely silent about any breakthroughs.
Guns, deadbolts and a mass student exodus: Terror grips Idaho college town after quadruple murder
03:00 , Andrea Blanco
A local lock shop can’t keep up with the demand for deadbolts.
“If you imagine that there’s two of us working, and then we’re going out and actually doing calls, and there’s 50 phone calls in one day ... we’re not getting them all done,” locksmith Casper Combs, 28, toldThe Independent, pointing out that it takes about an hour to install each deadbolt.
Most of the calls come from landlords and scared parents of students at UI, which is less than a mile away – “typically moms who are worried about their kids.”
“Little town Moscow doesn’t get a lot of drama, thank God,” says Mr Combs. “We’re lucky enough to live in a town where this type of thing is kind of so outlandish ... everybody is just freaked out, and that’s all that they’re talking about.”
The Independent’s Sheila Flynn has the story:
Guns, deadbolts and mass student exodus: Terror grips Idaho town after murders
Father of Idaho victim says daughter may have been prime target and ‘means of death’ don’t all match
02:00 , Andrea Blanco
Steven Goncalves, father of 21-year-old Kaylee, said that the suspect went upstairs where his daughter and her best friend Mogen, 21, were sleeping on the same bed on the top floor, which was out of the way of the killer’s entry point.
Mr Goncalves said the entry point was the middle floor. “So, to me, he doesn’t have to go upstairs. His entry and exit are available without having to go upstairs or downstairs,” he told Fox & Friends on Sunday.
“Looks like he probably may have not gone downstairs. We don’t know that for sure, but he obviously went upstairs. So I’m using logic that he chose to go up there when he didn’t have to.”
The Independent has more:
Father of Idaho murder victim says his daughter may have been prime target
The rumours and conspiracy theories ruled out by investigators
01:00 , Andrea Blanco
Despite multiple law enforcement agencies being drafted in to work on the case, police appear to be no closer to catching the killer, leaving students and residents of the notoriously safe town racked by fear and social media awash with speculation.
While officials are remaining tightlipped about key parts of the investigation including why they believe the murders were targeted, they have debunked several online rumours and ruled out potential ties to the killings.
The Independent has compiled all the theories ruled out so far by law enforcement:
Idaho college murders: The rumours and conspiracy theories ruled out
Everything we know about the 911 call
Monday 5 December 2022 22:31 , Andrea Blanco
The 911 call was made at 11.58am on 13 November and originated from the phone of one of the two roommates who survived the attack.
A dispatcher was told there was “an unconscious individual.”
Authorities have since revealed that other “friends” were present in the house when the 911 call was made after they were “summoned by the roommates.
“The surviving roommates summoned friends to the residence because they believed one of the second-floor victims had passed out and was not waking up,” a statement by Moscow PD read.
“Multiple people talked with the 911 dispatcher before a Moscow Police officer arrived at the location. Officers entered the residence and found the four victims on the second and third floors.”
Police have refused to reveal who made the 911 call and will not release the audio.
When pressed by The Independent on why the call could not be released, the department said: “The contents are exempt from public disclosure because the records are active investigatory records which, if released, would interfere with enforcement proceedings...”
It is unclear what the roommates and “other friends” discussed in the call and what led them to describe a victim as merely “unconscious”.
It is also unclear what the roommates and friends saw inside the home before placing the 911 call.
Killer left behind “messy” crime scene
Monday 5 December 2022 20:53 , Andrea Blanco
Describing the crime scene to Today, coroner Cathy Mabbutt said that there was “quite a bit of blood”.
DNA has been recovered from the home, which Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle shared with at least two other roommates.
Those roommates were home at the time of the killings but apparently were unaware of the murders until hours later. Nearly three weeks after the killings, police revealed a sixth person may have lived at the home.
Police have taken more than 4,000 pictures of the residence after the murders. The door appeared to be unlocked with no sign of forced entry and nothing seemed to have been taken, investigators said.
The bodies were found in the victims’ beds on the second and third floors, leading authorities to believe they were asleep when killed.
At a vigil on 30 November, Goncalves’ father revealed that his daughter and Mogen were in the same bed when they were killed.
Goncalves’ parents had previously said that they had been told by authorities that the investigation is moving slowly because the killer left behind a “mess” of evidence.
Steve and Kristi Goncalves said they’ve heard from police that the crime scene is sprawling and chaotic.
“They’re telling us that there’s so much evidence that it’s going to take a lot of time to process it all,” Mr Goncalves told Fox News. “This wasn’t like a pinpoint crime. This person was sloppy.”
A neighbour told Fox that the victims often hosted gatherings at the home and had a lot of people coming in and out of the residence, which could potentially complicate crime scene analysis.
Father of Idaho murder victim was asked to fix lock at home in week before the killings
Monday 5 December 2022 19:46 , Andrea Blanco
Cara Denise Northington, mother of murder victim Xana Kernodle, revealed in a phone interview with NewsNation that her daughter’s father had worked on the locks at the home prior to the killings.
Speaking with anchor Ashleigh Banfield, Ms Northington said she believed her daughter’s bedroom door had a lock and the Jeff Kernodle had visited the Moscow, Idaho, house a week before Xana’s death to fix a lock.
It is unclear whether it was the lock on the bedroom door or one of the house’s external doors.
Each individual so far linked to the murder investigation has now been ruled out as a potential suspect
Monday 5 December 2022 18:52 , Andrea Blanco
Moscow Police have said that the two surviving housemates who were in the home at the time of the killings and the other friends who were in the home when the 911 call was made are not considered suspects.
A man who was caught on camera with Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a food truck in the downtown area before they headed home and the private party who then gave the pair a ride home from the truck have also been ruled out.
Goncalves’ former long-term boyfriend, with whom she shares a pet dog Murphy, is also not being considered a suspect.
Everything we know about the murder weapon
Monday 5 December 2022 18:07 , Andrea Blanco
What we know: Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt revealed that each victim was stabbed multiple times with a “large knife”, describing their wounds as “pretty extensive” and revealing that they bled out inside their student home.
“I’ve been a coroner for 16 years... we have had multiple [victim] murders in the past, but nothing, nothing like this,” she said.
Police have now revealed that they believe the murder weapon was a fixed-blade knife and confirmed that they had visited local stores to inquire about any recent purchases.
A local store owner previously said that officials had been especially interested in sales of a military-style Ka-Bar or “Rambo” knife.
What we don’t know: No murder weapon has been found.
These 11 questions could hold the key to solving the Idaho murders. Here’s what we know - and don’t know
Monday 5 December 2022 17:00 , Andrea Blanco
Details about the murders that shook the small college town of Moscow, Idaho, remain scant, the murder weapon is nowhere to be found and there are huge gaps in the timeline of the last known movements of two of the victims.
Investigators have admitted that they are stumped by the killings in the small, notoriously safe college town and still have no suspects or persons of interest on their radar. For the past 17 days, officials have given little in the way of updates on the case – this silence and absence of information only serving to trigger an avalanche of online rumours and conspiracy theories among internet sleuths.
While police won’t say what they do know, they have resorted to debunking some of these online theories that they know to be incorrect.
The Independent has the story:
These 11 questions could hold the key to solving the Idaho murders
Victim’s father believes victims found on third floor were targeted
Monday 5 December 2022 16:10 , Andrea Blanco
Steve Goncalves, whose daughter Kaylee Goncalves was killed along with three University of Idaho students, has said that the killer ‘did not have’ to go to the third floor.
He hinted that the victims found on the third floor, his daughter and Madison Mogen, were targeted by the attacker.
“I’m not a professional, so I want to specify that, but they’ve said the entry point was the slider or the window. It was the middle floor. So, to me, he doesn’t have to go upstairs,” Mr Goncalves told Fox.
“His entry and exit are available without having to go upstairs or downstairs. Looks like he probably may have not gone downstairs. We don’t know that for sure, but he obviously went upstairs. So I’m using logic that he chose to go up there when he didn’t have to.”
Mother of victim hits out at police investigation saying she learns more from news
Monday 5 December 2022 15:26 , Andrea Blanco
Cara Denise Northington, mother of Xana Kernodle, broke her silence three weeks after the death of her daughter.
“There is so much more that can be done that has not been done,” she told NewsNation concerning the police investigation that has so far not turned up any suspects.
Speaking with anchor Ashleigh Banfield, Ms Northington said of her communication with the police: “They haven’t said anything. I learn more on the news and on TV than what they have said to me.”
The Independent’s Oliver O’Connell has the story:
Mother of Idaho murder victim hits out at police saying she learns more from news
Surviving roommates remember the victims
Monday 5 December 2022 14:44 , Andrea Blanco
The two University of Idaho students who survived a quadruple homicide at their Moscow home shared memories of their slain friends in their first public statements.
Dylan Mortenson and Bethany Funke were asleep on the first floor of their student rental house when their three roommates Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, and Xana Kernodle, along with Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin, were stabbed to death on 13 November.
At a memorial held in Post Falls, a youth pastor from Real Life Ministries shared a letter written by Ms Mortenson, according to the Idaho Statesman.
She described Kernodle, 20, as the “life of the party”, adding she was “strong, intelligent, hardworking” and beautiful. Ms Mortenson said she looked up to Chapin, 20, like an older brother, and described in glowing terms the love that the two had for each other.
Bevan Hurley reports:
Idaho college murders: The rumours and conspiracy theories ruled out
Where were Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in missing five hours?
Monday 5 December 2022 14:07 , Rachel Sharp
There continues to be a huge gap in the timeline for the last known movements of Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin before they were stabbed to death.
Police said that the young couple were at a fraternity party at Sigma Chi from 8pm to 9pm on the night of 12 November.
They arrived at the home at around 1.45am.
Their whereabouts in that roughly five hours has not been released.
Kernodle’s mother Cara Northington has now revealed that she believes her daughter and her boyfriend were at a bar during that time.
However, she confirmed that she does not know for sure.
Xana Kernodle’s mother hits out at police for lack of information
Monday 5 December 2022 13:45 , Rachel Sharp
The mother of victim Xana Kernodle has hit out at law enforcement for a lack of information about her daughter’s murder as she revealed that she has learned more from the news than from officials working on the case.
Cara Denise Northington broke her silence three weeks after the death of her daughter in an interview with NewsNation.
“There is so much more that can be done that has not been done,” she said about the police investigation.
Ms Northington said that she has been kept in the dark about what happened to her daughter.
“They haven’t said anything. I learn more on the news and on TV than what they have said to me,” she said, adding that “we need more answers.”
Thousands of tips – but still no suspect
Monday 5 December 2022 13:20 , Rachel Sharp
Police in Moscow have received thousands of tips from the public in connection to the quadruple murders – but still have no suspect three weeks into the investigation.
By Saturday, members of the public had submitted 2,645 emails through the tipline@ci.moscow.id.uso, more than 2,770 calls to the Tip Line at 208-883-7180, and over 1,084 digital media submissions to the FBI link.
In total, 113 pieces of physical evidence and approximately 4,000 crime scene photographs have been collected, while multiple three-dimensional scans of the residence have been created.
But, despite these efforts, police said that no suspect has been identified.
Students ‘very fearful’ as killer still at large
Monday 5 December 2022 13:00 , Rachel Sharp
Students who returned to the University of Idaho campus in Moscow, Idaho, following the quadruple homicides have revealed that they are “very fearful” with the killer still at large.
On the night of 12 November, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were at a sorority party at Sigma Chi house together and arrived back at the home at around 1.45am.
Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen had spent the night at The Corner Club bar in downtown Moscow, before stopping by the Grub Truck food truck and then getting a ride home from an unnamed “private party” to arrive at the property at around 1.56am.
The two surviving roommates were also out that night and arrived home at around 1am, police said.
At around 3am or 4am, an unknown assailant stabbed the four victims to death with a fixed-blade knife, police said.
On Saturday night, students outside the same food truck where Goncalves and Mogen spent their final hours spoke of their concerns that no arrests have been made in the case three weeks later.
One student told Fox News Digital that they are afraid to be out at night in Moscow and that many people are changing their habits entirely.
Another student said that they were “scared” but did feel some reassurance that police had upped their presence in the community.
Moscow police reveal Kaylee Goncalves’ ‘stalker’ incident, rule out connection to murders
Monday 5 December 2022 23:37 , Andrea Blanco
In a statement on Monday, the department said on Facebook that they are aware of an “isolated” incident involving Kaylee Goncalves and two men back in October. The men, who reportedly followed Goncalves into a business and as she returned to her car, are not believed to be involved in the murder, Moscow police said.
“In mid-October, two males were seen inside a local business; they parted ways, and one male appeared to follow Kaylee inside the business and as she exited to walk toward her car. The male turned away, and it did not appear he made any contact with her,” the post read.
It continued: “Detectives contacted both males and learned the two were attempting to meet women at the business, this was corroborated through additional investigation. Based on available information, detectives believe this was an isolated incident and not an ongoing pattern of stalking. No evidence suggests the two males were involved in the murders.”
The Independent has the story:
Moscow police reveal victims’ ‘stalker’ incident, rule out connection to murders
Two surviving flatmates break their silence in heartbreaking tribute
Monday 5 December 2022 12:34 , Rachel Sharp
The two surviving University of Idaho students have broken their silence to pay tribute to their slain friends in their first public statements.
Dylan Mortenson and Bethany Funke were asleep on the first floor of their student rental house when their three roommates Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, and Xana Kernodle, along with Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin, were stabbed to death on 13 November.
At a memorial held in Post Falls, a youth pastor from Real Life Ministries shared a letter written by Ms Mortenson.
She described Kernodle, 20, as the “life of the party”, adding she was “strong, intelligent, hardworking” and beautiful.Ms Mortenson said she looked up to Chapin, 20, like an older brother, and described in glowing terms the love that the two had for each other.
The Independent’s Bevan Hurley has the full story:
Police rule out connection to ‘alcohol’ incident at time of murders
Monday 5 December 2022 12:10 , Rachel Sharp
Police investigating the quadruple homicide have ruled out any connection to another incident that unfolded close by at around the same time as the murders.
Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were murdered at around 3am or 4am on 13 November.
The four victims were stabbed to death in a three-storey rental home on King Road, just yards from the University of Idaho campus.
At 3.01am that morning, a 911 call was made for an incident at Taylor Avenue and Band Field.
Moscow Police said in a statement on Friday that the incident was an alcohol offence which was addressed by the on-scene officer and is not related to the murder investigations.
Victim’s mother raises doubts with speed some people were ruled out
Monday 5 December 2022 11:50 , Rachel Sharp
The devastated mother of one of the victims has raised doubts with how quickly law enforcement ruled some people out as suspects in her daughter’s murder.
Kristi Goncalves, the mother of murdered student Kaylee Goncalves, told NewsNation that she felt police had cleared certain individuals “very fast”.
“I just feel like there have been a couple of individuals that were cleared very fast that maybe should not have been,” she said.
Ms Goncalves added that she doesn’t “know anything about those individuals”.
Several people have been ruled out as suspects including the two surviving roommates who were in the home at the time of the murders, the other friends who were at the property when the 911 call was made, the sorority service driver who gave Goncalves and Madison Mogen a ride home from the downtown area, a man who was caught on camera with the pair at a food truck in the downtown area and Goncalves’ former long-term boyfriend, with whom she shares a pet dog Murphy.
It is not clear who Ms Goncalves could be referring to.
However, the family has previously defended Goncalves’ former boyfriend and insisted he is not involved in the murders.
Mystery sixth housemate not believed to be connected to murders
Monday 5 December 2022 11:30 , Rachel Sharp
The mystery sixth person listed on the lease of the student home where the four students were brutally murdered in their beds is not believed to have been involved in the killings.
Moscow Police said on Friday that they had spoken to the unnamed individual and confirmed that they moved out of the property before the start of the school year.
The individual was not present at the time of the murders and detectives do not believe they had any involvement in the crime, police said in a statement.
The identity of that person has not been publicly released. It is not clear if they are a fellow student and friend of the victims.
Police revealed for the first time on Thursday that a sixth individual is listed on the lease for the three-storey home.
The revelation came after authorities previously said only five people lived at the home on King Road in Moscow, Idaho – victims Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle along with two other roommates who survived the attack.
The large property has six bedrooms across three floors and is located just feet from the University of Idaho campus.
Two of the victims’ bodies were found on the third floor and the other two on the second floor.
Two surviving roommates – who have not been publicly named by authorities – were asleep in their first floor bedrooms at the time of the attack and were left unharmed. They are believed to have slept through the brutal murders.
Victims have conflicting means of death, says father
Monday 5 December 2022 11:10 , Rachel Sharp
Kaylee Goncalves’ father Steve Goncalves has revealed that the means of death of at least two of the victims “don’t match”.
Autopsy findings revealed that Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin all suffered multiple stab wounds with a fixed-blade knife. Some of the victims also had defensive wounds while none had signs of sexual assault.
Goncalves and Mogen were found in the same bed on the third floor of the three-storey home while Chapin and Kernodle were found on the second floor.
Officials have not revealed how many times each of the victims were stabbed or whether their wounds were different.
Mr Goncalves told Lawrence Jones Cross Country that Goncalves and Mogen had conflicting means of death.
“I’ll cut to the chase – their means of death don’t match,” he said.
“Their points of damage don’t match. I’m just going to say it. It wasn’t leaked to me. I earned that. I paid for that funeral. I sent my daughter to college. She came back in a box, and I can speak on that.”
When asked if he was specifically referring to the deaths of his daughter and Mogen, he replied: “They don’t match.”
Police chief insists murders won’t become cold case
Monday 5 December 2022 10:50 , Rachel Sharp
Moscow Police Chief James Fry has insisted that the murders will not become a cold case – despite three weeks having passed with investigators appearing to be no closer to catching the killer.
In an interview with Moscow-Pullman Daily News on Thursday, Chief Fry vowed that the quadruple homicide that has rocked the small college town will be solved.
“I’m not even going to speculate on that, number one, because that’s not even in my mind,” he said, when asked about the possibility of it turning into a cold case.
“We’re going to solve this. We’re going to continue to work until we solve it.”
The police chief pushed back against the mounting frustration coming from the terrified community as the case continues to rumble on and the killer remains at large.
“I think people need to realise that these things take time in order to get the evidence processed and processed properly without destroying it or contaminating it,” he said.
Father of Idaho victim says his daughter may have been prime target
Monday 5 December 2022 10:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The grieving father of one of the four slain University of Idaho students said his daughter and her best friend may have been prime victims as the perpetrators ‘chose to go upstairs’ where they were sleeping.
Mr Goncalves said the entry point was the middle floor. “So, to me, he doesn’t have to go upstairs. His entry and exit are available without having to go upstairs or downstairs,” he added.
“Looks like he probably may have not gone downstairs. We don’t know that for sure, but he obviously went upstairs. So I’m using logic that he chose to go up there when he didn’t have to.”
Read more here.
Idaho murders: Father of victim says his daughter may have been prime target
Sixth person may have also lived at house where students were killed
Monday 5 December 2022 10:10 , Rachel Sharp
A sixth person may have also lived in the house where four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death, it has now been revealed.
Moscow Police said in a statement that a sixth individual is listed on the lease for the three-storey home but that investigators “do not believe that individual was present during the incident”.
The identity of that person has not been publicly released and it is not clear when they lived at the property.
Rachel Sharp reports.
Sixth person may have also lived at house where Idaho students were murdered
