A lawyer for the family of slain University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves has questioned whether local police are capable of solving the crime.
More than six weeks after the quadruple murder of Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin inside an off-campus rental home in Moscow on 13 November, the killer remains at large. No murder weapon has been found and no suspects have been named by police.
The Goncalves family previously shared their frustration at what they have described as a lack of communication between Moscow police and the families of the victims, claiming they have learned about developments in the probe through press releases as opposed to directly from the force.
“We want to let them know that we were holding them accountable for their decisions,” attorney Shannon Gray, who was retained by the Goncalves to act as a liaison between the family and the police department, told the Today show this week. “I’m not sure they are capable of handling a quadruple murder ... And if they are in over their heads, then acknowledge that and turn the investigation over to someone who is more versed in handling these types of matters.”
Moscow Police requested the help of Idaho State Police and the FBI in the immediate aftermath of the investigation but has seemingly remained the lead agency in the probe.
Authorities have maintained that the department “does have a lot of information” that is not being released in order to protect the integrity of the investigation.
Mr Gray’s remarks come just days after Steve Goncalves, Kaylee’s father, denied reports that he called police “cowards.”
In a Fox News interview published on Saturday, Mr Goncalves, one of the most vocal family voices in the media, noted that he was actually referring to “a lawyer who was standing in between what the officers would like to release and what is actually being released” when he made those comments.
Mr Goncalves said that his family understands that investigators “have their hands full” with the case.
In the aftermath of the killings that rocked the town of just 25,000, the Goncalves have made clear their dissatisfaction with the information, and lack thereof, that is being released to the public.
Mr Goncalves told Fox News that Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt had described the victims’ wounds as “big open gouges,” and that he believed young women on campus deserved to know the degree of the injuries and what to look out for.
“I got outraged by them not just coming out and saying this was a woman or a man because they should know by the amount of strength it took to deliver the injuries,” Mr Goncalves said in the interview published on 12 December.
He added: “They’re just being cowards. There are girls walking around the street right now that deserve to know. They should be looking out for a sadistic male.”
Police have not revealed the killer’s gender or whether they are believed to have acted alone.
Investigators are still on the hunt for the occupant or occupants of a mystery white car which was spotted near the student home around the time of the murders. Police have identified around 22,000 vehicles that fit the description of the car and are combing through the information for clues.
Moscow Police said that a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra with an unknown licence plate was seen “in the immediate area” in the early hours of 13 November.
“Investigators believe the occupant(s) of this vehicle may have critical information to share regarding this case,” police said in a statement nearly two weeks ago.
The four victims were stabbed to death in their beds with a fixed-blade knife at around 3am or 4am on 13 November. There was no signs of sexual assault.
Two surviving roommates were also out that night and arrived home at around 1am, police said. The two women, who lived in rooms on the first floor of the home, are believed to have slept through the brutal killings and were unharmed.
The horrific crime scene went unnoticed for several more hours, with police receiving a 911 call at 11.58am on Sunday, reporting an “unconscious individual” at the home.
The two other roommates had first called friends to the home because they believed one of the second-floor victims was unconscious and would not wake up. When the friends arrived, a 911 call was made from one of the roommates’ phones.
Police arrived on the scene to find the four victims dead from multiple stab wounds.
