Newly-obtained surveillance footage has come to light purportedly showing two of the slain University of Idaho students walking through downtown Moscow discussing a mystery individual named “Adam” just hours before they were brutally murdered.
The video captures Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen walking together with a man in the early hours of 13 November.
The man appears to be the same individual – known in social media circles as “hoodie guy” – who the two best friends were with when they stopped by late-night food spot the Grub Truck.
Police have already ruled him out as a suspect in the murders.
In the video, a voice believed to belong to Goncalves asks: “Maddie, what did you say to Adam?”
“Like, I told Adam everything,” a second female voice responds.
It is not clear who the man named Adam is but Goncalves’ grieving father said he is not a suspect in his daughter’s homicide.
Steve Goncalves told Fox News that investigators were already aware of the footage and that the mystery man named Adam is not connected believed to be connected to the killings.
“We’ve had that film for a while. I believe the business reached out to us directly after they had given it to police,” he said.
He added: “We did the obvious due diligence and we looked into that and it was pretty clear that this individual is not part of the investigation as far as [being] a suspect.”
Mr Goncalves said it was “comforting” to see his daughter and her friend enjoying their last night together.
“It’s kind of comforting as it’s just two girls having a good time talking... and just being girls on their way to the Grub Truck,” he said.
The newly-surfaced footage was captured by a local Moscow resident, who has handed it over to police. The video was then first shared with the “University of Idaho Murders - Case Discussion” Facebook group, which then provided it to Fox News Digital.
It is not clear exactly what time the footage was taken but it appears to be prior to Goncalves and Mogen paying a visit to the Grub Truck.
Investigators previously said that Goncalves and Mogen spent the night at The Corner Club bar in the downtown area, leaving there at around 1.30am and walking to the food truck.
After ordering food at the late-night food spot, they got a sorority service ride home, arriving at their student rental home on King Road at around 1.56am on 13 November. The driver who gave them a ride home is also not considered a suspect in the case.
The two best friends, their roommate Xana Kernodle and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin were stabbed to death in the home at around 3am or 4am.
More than one month on, the killer remains at large with no suspects identified and no arrests made.
Kristine Cameron and Alina Smith, the creators and administrators of the Facebook group which first uploaded the footage, said it gives a “bigger picture” of what happened in the lead-up to the murders.
Ms Cameron told Fox that it shows that “hoodie guy” had been with the victims prior to their visit to the food truck – appearing to debunk some of the rumours and conspiracies swirling about the man online.
Despite being ruled out as a suspect weeks ago, “hoodie guy” is one of several people who continue to be subjected to rampant online speculation among internet sleuths.
Moscow Police are now vowing to crack down on online misinformation after some people have even faced death threats over the unsolved case.
“We can all scrutinise those couple of minutes at the food truck, but we just have to remember there was an entire evening before this,” said Ms Cameron.
“There’s more than just that one timestamp that we have into that evening.”
She added: “People are drawing the conclusion that he’s creepy from that [few] minutes, and I want to give a bigger picture. He wasn’t just staring at them…He was with them prior.”
The man in the footage and the person who gave them a ride home are among several people who have been ruled out as suspects.
The others include: the two surviving housemates, Goncalves’ former long-term boyfriend and the friends who were in the home when the 911 call was made around midday on 13 November.
A sixth person listed on the lease of the student home and two men involved in a “stalker” incident with Goncalves around a month before the murders are also not believed to be connected to the case, police said.
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.
Last week, 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.
Investigators have urged the public to come forward with any information, revealing that it might just be the missing “piece of the puzzle”.
Border agents along the US’s border with Canada have been notified to be on the lookout for the car and tips have been pouring in from the public ever since.
Police have identified around 22,000 vehicles that fit the description of the car and are combing through the information for clues.
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 of the victims were found on the second floor of the home and two on the third floor.
On the night of 12 November, Kernodle and Chapin were at a sorority party at Sigma Chi house together from 8pm to 9pm and arrived back at the home at around 1.45am. It is unclear where they were in the five-hour time gap.
Goncalves and Mogen arrived back at the property at around 1.56am.
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.
