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Officials probing murders of four University of Idaho students who was strangled to death In the last month says he has received thousands of suggestions from the public.
In Saturday’s update, the Moscow Police Department said it had received more than 2,640 emails to tip web addresses, more than 2,770 phone tips and more than 1,000 submissions to the FBI link.
Investigators have collected more than 110 pieces of physical evidence and nearly 4,000 crime scene photographs.
But the matter remains unresolved. Police have neither located the murder weapon nor identified a suspect.
“To assist with the ongoing investigation, any strange or unusual occurrences should be reported,” Moscow police said on Saturday. “Your information, whether you believe it is important or not, could be the piece of the puzzle that helps investigators solve these murders.”
Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Zana Kurnodl, 20; Police said Carnolde’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, was found stabbed multiple times in his sleep a few days before the Thanksgiving break.
Their gruesome deaths have since shocked Moscow, a college town of about 25,000 that has not recorded a single murder since 2015, and the country.
In an effort to dispel false information being spread about the case, Moscow police this week dismissed several theories.
The Moscow Police Department said in a statement, “These are speculations without factual support, inciting fear of the community and spreading false facts.” News release Friday.
Contrary to online reports, none of the victims in the quadruple slaying were tied up and gagged. According to police, a report of a “skinned” dog weeks before the murders is not connected to the case, and the dead animal was left on a resident’s property that had been determined to be wildlife activity.
Additionally, police noted that the students’ murders are not related to two other stabbings in the neighboring states of Washington and Oregon in 1999 and 2021, respectively—which may “share similarities”, but “to support There appears to be no evidence” the cases are related,” according to the release.
Police also reassured the public that a September incident involving an argument between a group of people walking on a University of Idaho bike path and a cyclist who displayed a folding knife is not connected to the student murders.
“The person involved presented himself and the charges were forwarded to the Moscow City Attorney’s Office,” police said.
And although police have said they do not know who carried out the murders, they have released information eliminating some people as suspects, most recently listing a man on the lease of the residence where the murders took place. , police said on Friday,
“They have spoken to this individual and confirmed that he left before the start of the school year and was not present at the time of the incident. Detectives do not believe this individual has any involvement in the murders,” Moscow police said. Told.
Police also ruled out two surviving roommates who were in the home at the time of the murders and other people inside the home when the 911 call was made. The person who called 911 to alert authorities to the killings at the home has not been identified.
Two of the victims, Goncalves and Mogen, were driven home by someone after the pair had bought food from a truck a few hours before they were killed – authorities have denied suspecting the driver.
Additionally, a man seen in surveillance video from a food truck visited by Goncalves and Mogen, and another man who called “several times” in the hours before his death, were also ruled out as suspects by police. was done.
It is unclear how close authorities are to releasing information about a possible suspect or suspects. Moscow police noted on Friday, “Only pertinent information that does not hinder the investigation will be released to the public.”
But some of the details released by the authorities since the start of the investigation require further clarification.
This week, Moscow police noted and retracted comments from the Latah County prosecutor, which said “the suspects specifically looked at this residence” and “that one or more occupants were undoubtedly targeted”. was.”
Moscow police called this a “miscommunication” and said: “Detectives currently do not know whether the residence or any occupants were specifically targeted.”
On Thursday, Moscow police attempted to clarify once and for all significant conflicting information.
Police said, “We continue to believe this was a targeted attack, but investigators have not concluded whether the target was the residence or the occupants.”
Authorities also need to clarify other information, including initially saying on November 15 that detectives believe the attacks were “isolated” and “targeted” and that the community not under imminent threat, The next day, Moscow Police Chief James Fry said that police were not certain in concluding that the public was not at risk.
According to police, detectives have received testing and analysis of crime scene evidence from Idaho State Police Forensic Services, and will continue to receive the results of additional tests.
“To protect the integrity of the investigation, specific results will not be released,” police said.
According to police, detectives also collected the contents of three dumpsters on the street where the home is located and seized five nearby vehicles.
For the murder weapon – believed to be a fixed blade knife – detectives contacted local businesses regarding the purchase of knives in the days leading up to the murders.
Multiple agencies and law enforcement personnel are probing the killings. More than 30 employees of the Moscow Police Department, including detectives, patrol officers and support staff, are working the case, police said in a Friday news release.
Police said the FBI has dedicated 22 investigators to Moscow, 20 agents across the country and two investigators from the agency’s Behavioral Analysis Unit.
In addition, 20 Idaho State Police investigators have been assigned to Moscow, and an additional 15 uniformed troopers are patrolling the community. Forensic services and a mobile crime scene team of the state police are also working on the case.