Idaho college murders: Father of student speaks out
Steve Goncalves, father of slain University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves joins 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the investigation into the University of Idaho murders and talks about the life of his daughter.
Steve Goncalves, the father of University of Idaho murder victim Kaylee Goncalves, told Fox News that he has lost confidence in the police investigation surrounding his daughter's death as poor communication and a lack of progress in the case leaves the victim's families desperate for answers.
"I do not feel confident," Goncalves said on "Fox & Friends" Sunday when asked about the investigation. "And that's why I push the envelope and say a little bit more. I hate to be that guy, but, you know…everybody has a job and a role to play and this is my role as the parent."
Goncalves' daughter and her childhood best friend, 21-year-old Madison Mogen, were found dead on the third floor of their Moscow, Idaho, residence around noon on Nov. 13, while victims Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend, 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, were found on the second floor.
Kaylee Goncalves (pictured above) was one of the four University of Idaho students murdered on Nov. 13th. (INSTAGRAM/@KAYLEEGONCALVES)
Law enforcement officials investigating quadruple murder were criticized after they appeared to reverse their claim that one or more of the victims were "targeted," saying later that they do not know if that is the case and that the suggestion by Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson was a result of a "miscommunication".
Steve Goncalves, who repeatedly expressed frustration with the lack of transparency by the police, said he was instructed not to divulge whether his daughter or any of the other victims were targets of the attack. He did, however, call on investigators to share the alibis of certain unnamed individuals with the public.
"There's layers of separation," he said. "The communication is not the same as the boots on the ground. All the officers that are out on the streets, those guys are working their tails off. But there's a different person who does the communication. And that guy's sitting with the lawyer and that guy's sitting there telling him you've got to protect things that are beyond the case, like the town and the community and the college itself. Those don't matter as much to me," he continued.
"I mean, I definitely don't want to hurt them, but I have an agenda. And I think it's pretty clear it's these two girls and that's what I'm working for. And I'm not going to let that story fall apart just because they don't want wanted posters, you know, on their next rush of students that come into town," Goncalves said.
IDAHO MURDERS: WAS KAYLEE GONCALVES THE KILLER'S MAIN TARGET?
Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, along with the women's two other roommates in Kaylee Goncalves' final Instagram post, shared the day before the slayings. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
Goncalves vowed to continue speaking out publicly and has encouraged the other victims' families to do the same in the hopes of advancing the investigation.
"I have talked to, obviously, Maddie’s mother and her father and I've talked to Xana's father and he said, 'hey, you can speak on our behalf and you can help push this narrative.' So I feel confident there. That's as far as the real communications that I have," he said, mentioning that he has not had the chance to "get on the same page" yet with the Chapin family, "so I try not to mention that and stay within my lane of what is my role. I'm not trying to just give it all to my daughter. It's just I can't speak for other people."
Asked whether he believes investigators are any closer to finding his daughter's killer, Goncalves said plainly, "Wish I knew for sure."
"I did sit down with the investigator, the lead investigator, and I looked in his eyes and I got a sense that this guy was going to do everything in his power to get - to figure something out," he said. "But if the evidence isn't there, that's the part that I'm concerned [about]."
Steve Goncalves talks about his daughter, Kaylee Goncalves, who was one of four University of Idaho students who were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, during a vigil for the four students in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Goncalves also revealed that he believes his daughter and her best friend may have been targeted based on the perpetrator's suspected entry and exit point, telling Fox News that a sliding glass door or window on the second floor of the home — which meets a hill on the ground level in the backyard — "are available without having to go upstairs or downstairs."
"[The killer's] entry and exit are available without having to go upstairs or downstairs. Looks like he probably may have not gone downstairs," Goncalves revealed. "We don't know that for sure, but he obviously went upstairs. So I'm using logic that he chose to go up there when he didn't have to."
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Police also have yet to announce any kind of motive in the quadruple murder.
Authorities are asking anyone with information to call 208-883-7180 or tipline@ci.moscow.id.us.
Fox News' Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.