Moscow police are cryptic over college students’ targeted murders – live updates

Jeremy Reagan, a third-year law student who lives near the scene of the murders, told Fox News that the victims would often host self-contained gatherings and added that people went in and out of the house “pretty frequently.”

“There were parties that were kind of loud,” Mr Reagan said.

“As I would take my dog in and out to go to the bathroom [and] I would see people in the windows almost every night, probably four or five nights a week … it was kind of a party house but then again this whole neighbourhood is a party neighbourhood.”

Moscow police have reiterated that there were no signs of forced entry into the six-bedroom home.

The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has the story:

“We want to thank each and every one of you for being a part of Ethan’s life,” his family wrote in a program for the memorial on Tuesday.

“It is an incredible testimony to his character just how many lives he has touched in his short 20 years.

The loss is unimaginable but our family will persevere.”

Chapin, 20, was a triplet, and is survived by his parents and his siblings Maizie and Hunter. All three triplets enrolled in the University of Idaho last August and were looking forward to spending their college years together.

“Since attending the University of Idaho, Ethan lived his best life,” according to his obituary.

“He loved the social life, intramurals and tolerated the academics. He also continued to play sports.”

“If he wasn’t on the golf course or working, you could usually find him surfing, playing sand volleyball or pickle ball,” the obituary said.

Police said that the two roommates were also in the property at the time of the killings, having returned around 1am – not long before the four victims also returned home.

The pair were unharmed in the violent knife attack and appear to have slept through what happened.

In a press conference on Sunday, police said that the surviving roommates “did not wake up until later that morning”.

Officials admitted it is something investigators are also struggling to understand how the two women managed to sleep through the violent stabbings.

“I don’t even know that information at this point in time,” said Chief James Fry of the Moscow Police Department. “That’s why we’re continuing to investigate.”

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the story:

A retired FBI behavioural analyst profiled the killer as “sloppy,” and close in age to the victims.

Former agent Jim Clemente, who is not working on the case, spoke to Fox News Digital about the quadruple murder that shook the college town of Moscow and the nation on 13 November.

“This offender did not just randomly choose this location, that he targeted one or more of the people in there,” Mr Clemente told the network.

“That could be because he has a relationship … with one or more of them, or it could be that he’s been stalking one or more of them.”

The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has the story:

Moscow resident Heather Tetwiler told Fox News that the slain students — Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Moge, 21, — would host college gatherings, but that the residence was “not necessarily a party house.”

“They had like small gatherings, maybe like ten people or so and it never really got crazy other than the usual college stuff but they were pretty respectful,” Ms Tetwiler said.

Moscow police have reiterated that there were no signs of forced entry into the six-bedroom home.

The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has the story:

In a conference with little updates on Wednesday, Moscow police said that they would not be revealing why the attack is thought to be targeted.

“You’re going to have to trust us on that at this point because we are not going to release why we think that,” a police spokesperson said.

Authorities added that the department is not “willing to sacrifice speed for quality,” and information will be released in due time in order to preserve the investigation.

During a press conference on Wednesday, authorities said that attempts to investigate reports that one of the victims was being stalked had not been successful.

Moscow Captain Roger Lanier said that the department had looked intensively into reports that Goncalves had a stalker, and encouraged the public to continue submitting tips.

In her latest report from on the ground in Idaho, Sheila writes: “As hundreds gathered to pay their respects, the three other victims’ families were also grieving six hours away in Idaho – and pleading for an end to wild speculation about the case that has both amplified their pain and complicated investigations.”

“All the noise out there is really harming the families,” a friend of Kristi and Steve Goncalves, Kaylee’s parents, told The Independent. “And it’s taking the police down trails that are not real and taking them away from the ones that are.”

Read Sheila’s coverage:

In a release on Tuesday, university president Scott Greene said that the college plans to “be flexible through the end of the semester.

Faculty were asked to prepare in-person and remote learning options for the final two weeks of the semester.

“Normally, I have to drive around five minutes trying to find a parking spot; I pulled in and one of the closest spots is open,” Mr Bartels said. “I mean, literally, the student population going to class declined by 50 per cent. Overnight.”

The Independent’s Sheila Flynn and Andrea Blanco have the story:

The Moscow Police Department and other agencies involved in the massive search for a suspect in the Idaho college murders case are set to give their latest update today.

A press conference is scheduled for 1pm local time.

It’s been three days since police gave their last press conference on Sunday.

I that event, authorities said that the two surviving roommates, a male seen on Twitch video that also featured Goncalves and Mogen at a food truck hours before the murders, and an individual who drove the two of them home that night are not considered suspects.