(Trends Wide) — Investigators into the homicides of four University of Idaho students are looking for at least one person they believe was inside a white sedan that was seen near the crime scene around the time the deaths occurred last month, police said Wednesday.
A 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra was seen “in the immediate area” of the off-campus home where students were stabbed to death in the early hours of November 13, Moscow police said in a statement Wednesday.
The information about the vehicle comes from the thousands of tips police have received about the case, which has shocked the small college town of Moscow, Idaho.
“Investigators believe that the occupant or occupants of this vehicle may have vital information to share in connection with this case,” the police statement said, noting that the car had an unknown license plate.
The students—Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, were killed just days before Thanksgiving. All were stabbed multiple times and were likely asleep when the attack began, a coroner has said.
Nearly a month after the four slayings, authorities have not identified any suspects or located the weapon, which they believe to be a knife.
Still, the researchers maintain that they have made progress, but cannot share details as that could compromise the investigation.
“We are continually making progress,” Idaho State Police spokesman Aaron Snell told Trends Wide. “But this is a criminal investigation, and as we move forward, we can’t always provide that information.”
Investigators are working with more than 6,000 leads they have received in the course of the investigation so far. “We have quality data that we’re working on,” Snell said.
Moscow City Police Department. Credit: Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service/TNS/Getty Images
Return of victims’ belongings to families
Police on Wednesday began the process of returning some of the victims’ belongings to their families.
“It’s time for us to give back those things that really mean something to those families and hopefully help them heal,” Moscow Police Chief James Fry said in a brief video statement Tuesday.
“I’m a parent, I understand the meaning of some of those things,” Fry said.
Items removed from the house where the four students were killed “are no longer needed for the investigation,” police said.
As they work to find out who is responsible for the deaths of the students, the police have built a timeline of what they were doing in the hours leading up to their deaths and what happened before the police were called.
The four had gone out to enjoy a typical weekend night: two were at a downtown Moscow bar and the other two were at a fraternity house, according to investigators. Everyone had returned to the house by 2 in the morning.
Later in the morning, two surviving housemates “called friends at the residence because they believed one of the victims on the second floor had passed out and was not waking up,” police said in a statement.
Just before noon, a person called 911 from the house using the phone of one of the fellow survivors.
Agents found two of the victims on the second floor and another two on the third. There were no signs of sexual assault, according to police. Authorities also saw no signs of forced entry or damage.
Detectives do not believe the surviving housemates were involved in the murders, according to police.
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(Trends Wide) — Investigators into the homicides of four University of Idaho students are looking for at least one person they believe was inside a white sedan that was seen near the crime scene around the time the deaths occurred last month, police said Wednesday.
A 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra was seen “in the immediate area” of the off-campus home where students were stabbed to death in the early hours of November 13, Moscow police said in a statement Wednesday.
The information about the vehicle comes from the thousands of tips police have received about the case, which has shocked the small college town of Moscow, Idaho.
“Investigators believe that the occupant or occupants of this vehicle may have vital information to share in connection with this case,” the police statement said, noting that the car had an unknown license plate.
The students—Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, were killed just days before Thanksgiving. All were stabbed multiple times and were likely asleep when the attack began, a coroner has said.
Nearly a month after the four slayings, authorities have not identified any suspects or located the weapon, which they believe to be a knife.
Still, the researchers maintain that they have made progress, but cannot share details as that could compromise the investigation.
“We are continually making progress,” Idaho State Police spokesman Aaron Snell told Trends Wide. “But this is a criminal investigation, and as we move forward, we can’t always provide that information.”
Investigators are working with more than 6,000 leads they have received in the course of the investigation so far. “We have quality data that we’re working on,” Snell said.
Moscow City Police Department. Credit: Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service/TNS/Getty Images
Return of victims’ belongings to families
Police on Wednesday began the process of returning some of the victims’ belongings to their families.
“It’s time for us to give back those things that really mean something to those families and hopefully help them heal,” Moscow Police Chief James Fry said in a brief video statement Tuesday.
“I’m a parent, I understand the meaning of some of those things,” Fry said.
Items removed from the house where the four students were killed “are no longer needed for the investigation,” police said.
As they work to find out who is responsible for the deaths of the students, the police have built a timeline of what they were doing in the hours leading up to their deaths and what happened before the police were called.
The four had gone out to enjoy a typical weekend night: two were at a downtown Moscow bar and the other two were at a fraternity house, according to investigators. Everyone had returned to the house by 2 in the morning.
Later in the morning, two surviving housemates “called friends at the residence because they believed one of the victims on the second floor had passed out and was not waking up,” police said in a statement.
Just before noon, a person called 911 from the house using the phone of one of the fellow survivors.
Agents found two of the victims on the second floor and another two on the third. There were no signs of sexual assault, according to police. Authorities also saw no signs of forced entry or damage.
Detectives do not believe the surviving housemates were involved in the murders, according to police.
