Police Chief Vows to Keep Investigating Unsolved Student Murders in Idaho

Officers investigate a homicide at an apartment complex south of the University of Idaho campus on Nov. 13, 2022. (Zach Wilkinson/The Moscow-Pullman Daily News via AP)

The investigation into the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students has yet to produce many answers, but the police chief for the city of Moscow, Idaho, promised on Dec. 1 that he and his team would get to the bottom of what had occurred.

Appearing on “Good Morning America,” Police Chief James Fry said: “We’re going to continue to push through this investigation until we can uncover that secret. And when we do, it’ll be one of those days that a lot of relief will come to our community.”

On Nov. 13, Moscow police discovered the bodies of the four students while responding to reports of an unconscious person at a home near the University of Idaho’s golf course on King Road.

The victims were later identified to be Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, from Rathdrum, Idaho.

Each victim was stabbed multiple times and some had defensive wounds.

In the weeks since the investigation was opened, the police have yet to identify a suspect or locate the murder weapon, and conflicting information from police has left many members of the Moscow community concerned.

“Conflicting information has been released over the past 24 hours,” the police department said in a Nov. 30 press release. “The Latah County Prosecutor’s Office stated the suspect(s) specifically looked at this residence, and that one or more of the occupants were undoubtedly targeted. We have spoken with the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office and identified this was a miscommunication.

“Detectives do not currently know if the residence or any occupants were specifically targeted but continue to investigate.”

Previously, police had also vacillated on whether there remained a threat to the public, initially stating that no such threat existed only to clarify days later that they could not confirm there was no threat to the public.

“Please be patient as we work through this investigation,” Idaho State Police Col. Kendrick Wills said at a Nov. 20 news conference. “We owe this to these young kids. To these young adults. We owe it to them. And we’re absolutely dedicated to make sure that that happens.”

What is known is that all four victims were members of fraternities or sororities, and Chapin was dating Kernodle.

According to police, Chapin and Kernodle were at the Sigma Chi house on the University of Idaho campus and returned home at around 1:45 a.m. on Nov. 13. Meanwhile, Mogen and Goncalves were at The Corner Club bar in downtown Moscow that night and stopped at a food truck before also returning home at around 1:45 a.m.

Mogen and Goncalves also made multiple calls to an unidentified male, though police said they believe those calls were unconnected to the homicide.

Police have also ruled out as suspects a man in a hooded sweatshirt seen on video near the food truck the two women stopped at, and a private driver who gave them a ride home.

According to police, two additional roommates were in the house during the attacks and allegedly slept through them, waking later that day. The phone of one of those roommates was used to call 911 at around 11:58 a.m.

On Wednesday, Idaho State Police Communications Director Aaron Snell told Fox News Digital that investigators have begun receiving results from forensic testing at a crime lab.

“I do know that each type of testing… some take longer than others,” he said. “And I also do know that there have been results that have been returned and those go directly to the investigators, so that way they can help, again, paint that picture as we keep talking about.”

Snell, according to the outlet, declined to comment on whether DNA evidence had been discovered on the scene that did not belong to the victims or the two surviving roommates.

More than 100 law enforcement officers including officers from the FBI, Idaho State Police, and Moscow Police Department are analyzing 113 pieces of physical evidence, 4,000 crime scene photos, 488 digital media submissions, and other information that could help to solve the case, police said on Nov. 30.

While many in the Moscow community have expressed frustration over the lack of answers, in his Thursday interview, Fry said he would do what he could to ensure justice for the victims.

“What I can offer is that we are going to work continuously,” he said, “and we’re going to provide as many answers as we can.”