“One lucky girl to be surrounded by these ppl everyday,” Kaylee Goncalves wrote on social media on Saturday.
In her Instagram post, the 21-year-old University of Idaho student shared photos of her group of friends arm-in-arm, grinning carefree at the camera in a show of typical college fun.
Just hours later, four of the smiling students were dead – stabbed to death in a mystery quadruple homicide that has rocked the small college town of Moscow and left many unanswered questions.
The bodies of Ethan Chapin, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Goncalves, 21, were found inside a home close to the university campus at around midday on Sunday (13 November).
For three days, local officials insisted that there was no ongoing threat to the community and that the murders were both “isolated” and “targeted”.
Students, locals and the victims’ families were less convinced, with many upping sticks and leaving town prior to the end of the college term.
On Wednesday, police suddenly walked back their claims around public safety, admitting “there is a threat out there still” and confessing that they have no suspect or suspects in mind.
Now, four days on from the murders, authorities appear to be no closer to catching the killer. No arrests have been made, no suspects have been identified and no murder weapon has been found.
Instead, several key questions remain.
What was the motive for the attack?
Who placed the puzzling 911 call?
Why were police only alerted several hours after the murders when two other people were inside the home?
Here’s what we know – and don’t know – about the mysterious and tragic case:
Mystery 911 call
The unsolved tragedy came to light at around midday on Sunday when police were called to a home on King Road, Moscow, to a report of an “unconscious person”.
Moscow Police officers arrived on the scene to find the four student victims dead inside the property – stabbed to death with an “edged weapon such as a knife”.
Officials are remaining tightlipped about who placed the 911 call and why they would have said it was an “unconscious individual” given the bloody nature of the crime scene.
Police have not confirmed whether that person was on the scene when they arrived, or whether they are a potential suspect.
On Wednesday, in the first press conference given since the murders, police revealed that the victims’ two other roommates were in the home at the time of the murders and were still there when police arrived.
Mogen, Kernodle and Goncalves lived together in the six-bedroom property with two other female students, while Chapin was dating Kernodle.
The two roommates were unharmed in the attack and were not held hostage, revealed authorities.
Moscow Police refused to confirm if one of them placed the 911 call and would not divulge what information they had been able to provide. Chief James Fry said the pair were not “witnesses” to the grisly crime.
The two roommates are not considered suspects and are cooperating with the investigation, Idaho State Police said.
In the immediate aftermath of the grim discovery, a homicide investigation was launched and the college campus was plunged into lockdown.
The University of Idaho issued an alert to students to stay away from the area and shelter in place.
“Moscow PD is investigating a homicide on King Rd. near campus. Suspect is not known at this time,” tweeted the university on Sunday afternoon.
“Stay away from the area and shelter in place. More information will be made available when possible.”
Just one hour later, the shelter in place was lifted with authorities saying there was “no ongoing threat” to the public.
However, students were told to “remain vigilant” with the suspect “unknown” and not in custody at that time.
‘Crime of passion’
On Tuesday, police revealed that all four victims are believed to have been stabbed to death with “an edged weapon such as a knife”.
An official cause of death will be confirmed when autopsies are completed later in the week.
Police described the slayings as “an isolated, targeted attack” and continued to insist “there is no imminent threat to the community at large”.
It is not clear what evidence has led investigators to reach that conclusion.
Two days on from the slayings, the murder weapon has not been recovered, no arrests have been made and no suspects have been named.
Investigators are currently working to establish a timeline of the victims’ movements on the evening of 12 November and early morning of 13 November as part of the investigation.
On Monday, Moscow Police Capt Anthony Dahlinger told local paper The Idaho Statesman that the four students are all being considered victims and not suspects in the killings – ruling out the possibility of a murder-suicide – and said a suspect is being sought.
“We certainly have a crime here, so we are looking for a suspect,” he said.
Moscow Mayor Art Bettge described the killings as a “crime of passion” and a “one-off type of situation”.
“Something had occurred that resulted in these deaths – there was no robbery,” he said.
However, in an interview with Fox News Digital, the mayor appeared to admit that all potential motives were on the table.
“It’s one of any of a plenitude of possibilities, including burglary gone wrong, robbery gone wrong… any of those is a possibility and not one to the exclusion of others,” he said on Monday.
The mayor also said the students likely died between 3am and 4am on Sunday, with their bodies left undiscovered for several hours. The police captain has not confirmed this timeline.
While police have said that they are treating the incident as a homicide and are seeking a suspect, they have not confirmed whether or not they have a particular suspect or suspects on their radar.
The victims
The identities of the four victims were publicly released on Monday: Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Arizona; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho.
Chapin was a freshman and a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, while Goncalves was a senior majoring in general studies and a member of the Alpha Phi sorority.
Both Kernodle and Mogen were members of the Pi Beta Phi sorority both majoring in marketing – the former a junior and the latter a senior.
Based on their social media accounts, all four were close friends and the three young women were roommates. Kernodle and Chapin appear to have been dating.
Mogen and Goncalves both graduated together from Lake City High School in 2019 and made the university’s dean’s list in spring 2021.
Tributes pour in
Tributes poured in for the victims on social media while a vigil has been planned in the community on Wednesday.
The family of Goncalves shared a heartbreaking statement on social media where they revealed the 21-year-old was looking forward to a new start in Texas in a couple of months’ time.
“She was looking forward to her job in tech starting on 1/1, a move to Texas, road trips in her just purchased Range Rover, and a trip she planned out to Europe,” they wrote.
Describing her as “our defender and protector”, the family vowed to fight to get “justice” for her death.
“She’d never stop fighting for us and demanding the truth and justice and neither will we,” they wrote.
Goncalves’ grieving loved ones also urged people to “refrain from spreading harmful rumors” about the deaths, reminding people that they can see the comments and posts shared on social media.
The owners of local family-ran restaurant Mad Greek, where Mogen and Kernodle both worked part time, also paid tribute to the students in a Facebook post.
“Xana and Maddie have been servers here for several years and brought so much joy to our restaurant and all of those they encountered,” the tribute read.
“You will be greatly missed. Thank you for being a part of our family/team and for helping me so much over the years. Until we meet again.”
Anyone with information about the homicides is asked to call the Moscow Police Department at 208-883-7054.
