Idaho college murders latest news updates: Moscow probe won’t slow down over holiday as police scour video

Two weeks after the murders, Idaho State Police spokesperson Aaron Snell told Fox that DNA results from the crime scene had been handed to investigators.

Mr Snell refused to confirm or deny if DNA that did not belong to the four victims or the two surviving roommates had been found at the crime scene as it is hoped that the forensics could finally provide some clues to lead police to the killer.

He told The Independent that no information on whether DNA found at the scene matched anyone in CODIS would be released at the time.

It is not clear if the killer left their DNA at the crime scene. With officials believing the attack was targeted, it is possible that the perpetrator could have visited the home before that night.

On 29 November, Latah County Prosecutor Prosecutor Bill Thompson appeared to cast doubt on the belief that all four victims were found in their beds.

In an interview with NewsNation, he refused to confirm the exact locations where the victims’ bodies were found inside the student home saying such information might only be known by the killer.

“As for as the victims who are deceased, I can’t say for sure [where they were found] and that would be one of the details that investigators would want to protect as very few people would know the exact locations of the victims in the house,” he said.

Mr Thompson also said that he didn’t know if the victims’ bedroom doors were left locked.

Police have revealed that two of the victims were found on the second floor, and the other two on the third floor – but have not confirmed who was where.

“After sorting through the majority of the digital content gathered from critical cameras during crucial times before and after the homicides took place, investigators continue to comb through hours and hours of digital content submitted by businesses, homes, and the public,” the department said on Friday.

The department also asked the public for additional help in searching for a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra in the immediate area of the King Road residence during the early morning hours of 13 November.

Authorities are currently sorting through 22,000 registered cars of that model.

In a statement to The Independent on Friday, Xana Kernodle’s family said they’ve decided to start a memorial endowment in partnership with the University of Idaho to keep her legacy alive.

“We are asking anyone who is willing and able to donate any amount they are comfortable with. Please know that no donation is too small,” the family said. “We sincerely thank you in advance from the bottom of our hearts.

“At the very least, we hope to create some good out of such a terrible and heartbreaking situation.”

In a press release on Thursday, Moscow Police Captain Roger Lanier said that investigators are sorting through 22,000 registered 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantras. Last week, authorities asked for the public’s help in locating a vehicle of that model seen near the scene of the quadruple stabbings.

The department said that the occupants of the car could have critical information about the brutal stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin on 13 November. The probe entered its second month on Tuesday with no suspects named by police.

“Through our tips, through our leads, and some of the evidence that came in, we started to identify patterns,” Capt Lanier said in a video statement.

He added: “We understand that even though sometimes there is a fascination with a particular case, some people simply don’t watch the news and may not know what we’re looking for.

The Independent has the story:

Online forums with thousands of members are full of people speculating about possible motives, doxxing the victims’ friends and acquaintances and even outright labelling some people as murderers.

“People are going down these rabbit holes, and they’re hyper-focusing on one individual and attacking that individual,” Tauna Davis, an Idaho State Police trooper who is helping the Moscow Police Department handle the influx of media interview requests, told the Associated Press.

“You’re attacking, most likely, an innocent person.”

A store manager in Moscow, Idaho has said that Kaylee Goncalves voiced fears about a potential stalker before she and three other students were killed.

The Independent has the story:

Police investigating the murder of four University of Idaho students scoured a 24-mile radius for surveillance footage from the night of the stabbings.

Moscow investigators travelled to the nearby towns of Troy and Kendrick for the footage that could help in the investigation into the slayings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, according to a Fox News Digital report.

The Independent has the story:

Kristi Goncalves, whose 21-year-old daughter Kaylee Goncalves was stabbed to death in her off-campus rental home in Moscow on 13 November, appeared on the Today Show on Thursday and spoke of her family being “left in the dark” as her daughter’s killer remains at large.

Ms Goncalves raised issue with the manner in which families have been kept in the loop – revealing that she learned about the largest recent development at the same time as the general public.

Last week, police issued a statement seeking help tracking down the occupant or occupants of a white Hyundai Elantra that was seen near the crime scene around the time of the killings. Investigators said the occupants could have information about the crime.

Ms Goncalves said she didn’t know authorities were seeking that vehicle until reading that press release.

The grieving mother added that despite miscommunication problems between law enforcement and the victims’ families, the Goncalves’ support investigators’ work in the probe.

Kane Francetich, who lives just 0.3 miles from the murder scene in Moscow, Idaho, said detectives had reached out to him on 14 November, a day after the four students were brutally murdered in their beds.

Since last week, police have asked for the public’s help in tracking down the occupant or occupants of a white Hyundai Elantra in connection to the case.

The Independent’s Shweta Sharma has the story:

Rumours continue to swirl around body-camera footage recorded on the night four University of Idaho students were brutally murdered – despite police confirming days ago that the video was unrelated to the killings.

Last week, Moscow Police shut down speculation around the footage that showed an officer speaking to individuals less than a mile away from the off-campus home where Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were stabbed to death on 13 November.

The department told The Independent at the time that the incident on the footage – described as an “alcohol offense” was in no way connected to the murders. Police also said that a white car in the background was not the vehicle investigators are seeking information about — a conspiracy then proliferating on Reddit channels that have amassed more than 134,000 members.

“Investigators working on the current homicide case are aware of the footage, they have reviewed it and all the details associated with it and have determined it is not related,” Moscow Police said.