Town frozen in shadow of students' murder
Almost a month on, Idaho police have no suspect and residents want answers
Once famous for its parties, the grey three-storey house set into the hill at 1122 King Road has a cold silence hanging over it now.
Snow has covered the flowers left in tribute to Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20 and Xana Kernodle, 20 — the four University of Idaho students stabbed to death in their beds last month as two other housemates slept downstairs.
There were no screams for help. No sign of forced entry. No known motive. And one month later, there is still no suspect.
In the frozen town of Moscow, Idaho, families are becoming frustrated with the police investigation, online sleuths are searching for answers and students are frightened the killer will strike again.
“We’re doing the best we can to apprehend the individual or individuals, but we want to make sure people remain vigilant,” Robbie Johnson, public information officer for Idaho Police, told The Sunday
Telegraph. “There is a murderer — or murderers — out there right now, whether it’s in our community or in somebody else’s community.”
The victims
On the top floor was Madison, or Maddie, a student with a “hearty laugh” and a famous pair of pink cowboy boots. She shared a floor with Kaylee, her best friend since they were 11.
Ethan, from Mount Vernon, Washington, slept on the middle floor with his girlfriend, Xana, described as “the definition of sunshine”. As a couple, they were known as “the life of the party”.
Two other women, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, slept on the bottom floor. As a group, and as individuals, the housemates were popular kids at their university.
The King Road student home — in a prime spot just off campus and overlooking fraternity houses — was always the place to be. Since August, police had received three noise complaints.
When the Telegraph visited, there was a sofa in the garden, a barbecue on the porch and a bin still overflowing with cans of alcoholic drinks. But on Saturday, November 12, all was quiet.
The night before the murder
Maddie and Kaylee went out drinking until 1.45am, when they went to a food truck and then took a ride home shortly after, getting back at 1.56am. The two girls got into bed together and made a series of phone calls to Kaylee’s ex-boyfriend until 2.52am.
Ethan and Xana were at a party at his Sigma Chi fraternity house, less than 200m away, between 8pm and 9pm, and didn’t return to King Road until 1.45am. What they did in between remains a major question mark that police are investigating.
Dylan and Bethany — the housemates who survived — had also been out in town and returned home at 1am. Police say they did not wake until the following morning. They have been ruled out as suspects. At some point between 3am and 6am on November 13 the killer — or killers — entered, most likely through a sliding window or door on the second floor.
Using a fixed-blade knife, they stabbed Kaylee, Madison, Ethan and Xana to death.
There were signs of a struggle but no indication of sexual assault. The attacker or attackers then slipped back out into the night, taking the murder weapon with them.
The morning after
When Dylan and Bethany woke up and found one of their housemates unresponsive — it is not known which one — they believed they were merely unconscious after their night out. Instead of ringing the police or an ambulance, they called friends over for help. It wasn’t until 11.58am that they phoned 911. Audio of that call has not yet been released.
When officers arrived shortly afterwards, they quickly realised they were dealing with the first murders the town had seen in seven years.
In the days afterwards, the response was confused. A prosecutor for Latah County said the “attack was intended for a specific person”. Then police said that was a “miscommunication” and they could not rule out a random attack.
Now, they have said it was a targeted killing, but investigators have “not concluded” if the target was the residence — for example someone looking for drugs or money — or the occupants.
“There seems to be confusion everywhere you look,” Kaylee’s father Steven Goncalves said. He has hired a private investigator and a lawyer to push police to release more information.
There is a lot that is still not known. What order were the students killed in? Where were Xana and Ethan all evening? Which friends were invited over in the morning and what did they do? Could the Sigma Chi house, which has said it is co-operating with police, hold some answers? Members were reportedly interviewed by police looking for signs of cuts or bruises on their arms. The fraternity did not respond when approached for comment.
Authorities point to the sheer amount of evidence they have to wade through: 113 pieces of physical evidence, 4000 photographs of the crime scene and nearly 6000 tips. Dozens of local and state officers, plus FBI agents and a forensics team are working the case.
Internet sleuths
Amateur sleuths are sharing theories online, ranging from an incel killer taking revenge on the college’s popular kids to a serial killer linked to a similar attack in Oregon last year.
Threads on Reddit and groups on Facebook have tens of thousands of members. Subjects of posts include police reports of strange men seen wandering around the area and discussion of what body cam footage from a different incident that night really shows. There is even a poll for people to vote on who they think did it.
The rumours and accusations have prompted police to set up a Q&A page to address theories and rule out suspects. But the case has continued to make headlines. Four weeks on, TV crews still stand guard outside the house, and there is already a podcast series.
The residents of Moscow remain stunned by the horror that invaded their quiet town.
Everyone, especially the families of the victims, wants the mystery to be solved.
“Turn yourself in,” Kristi Goncalves pleaded in a television appeal to the killer. “Stop all this. Let us mourn our children. We can’t with this person out there. Just end it. The guilt has got to be overwhelming. Stop hiding.”