Idaho police address rumors, rule out suspects in college student slayings
Moscow, Idaho Police Captain Roger Lanier gives an update on the University of Idaho student murders.
Kaylee Goncalves, one of four students University of Idaho students who was brutally murdered on Nov. 13, told others that she "may have had a stalker" before she was killed, but authorities have not been able to verify that information, police said on Wednesday.
"We obtained information through some of our interviews that Kaylee had made some comments about a stalker. So that's where that came from," Moscow Police Captain Roger Lanier told reporters on Wednesday.
"We have followed up looking at specific time frames and specific areas of town. So far, we have not been able to corroborate it, but we're not done looking into that piece of information."
Police previously said they've received "hundreds of pieces of information" related to Goncalves potentially being stalked.
Kaylee Goncalves, one of four University of Idaho students found murdered Sunday in a home near campus. (Facebook)
Goncalves and Madison Mogen returned to their three-story off-campus residence around 1:45 a.m. on Nov. 13 after going to a local bar and stopping at a food truck.
Goncalves made multiple calls to her ex-boyfriend between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m., but they went unanswered. Police say that her ex-boyfriend is not a suspect.
Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle, who were dating, also returned home around 1:45 a.m. after attending a party at the Sigma Chi house on campus.
A split photo showing the crime scene and the victims, including University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, 20; Xana Kernodle, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital/ Instagram/ @xanakernodle/ @kayleegoncalves))
Police believe that they were stabbed to death with a "fixed-blade knife" sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. All four victims were stabbed multiple times and some had defensive wounds.
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Someone called 911 shortly before noon from one of two surviving roommates' phones to report an "unconscious person."
Police search a home in in Moscow, Idaho, where four University of Idaho students were killed over the weekend in an apparent quadruple homicide. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Red stains running down the foundation of a house where four college students were murdered in Moscow, Idaho. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
No suspect has been identified and police have not located a murder weapon, but Jim Clemente, a retired FBI supervisory special agent and criminal behavioral analysis expert, previously told Fox News Digital that the killer likely knew the victims or was a stalker familiar with their habits.
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"Going into an occupied dwelling with six people in … different rooms in the middle of the night is an extremely high-risk crime, unless he knows one or more of the people," Clemente told Fox News Digital.
"So, that is my first thought on it: this offender did not just randomly choose this location, that he targeted one or more of the people in there. Now, that could be because he has a relationship or a past relationship with one or more of them, or it could be that he's been stalking one or more of them."
Flowers and a toy bear sit as a memorial the house in Moscow, Idaho on November 21, 2022. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
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Authorities have asked for patience as more than 100 law enforcement officers from the FBI, Idaho State Police, and Moscow Police Department probe over 1,000 tips and 103 pieces of evidence.
"We all want to understand why this happened and what drove someone to do this," Moscow Police Chief James Frye said Wednesday.
Fox News' Stephanie Pagones contributed to this report.
