Authorities investigating the murder of four University of Idaho students claimed “multiple” people spoke with 911 dispatchers before the police arrived at the spot and that two of the roommates of the victims were there at the residence at the time of the incident.
Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were believed to have been killed in the early morning hours of 13 November at an off-campus residence. Authorities on Sunday said they were each stabbed multiple times, and that some had defensive wounds.
“At 11.58am, a 911 call requested aid for an unconscious person. The call originated from inside the residence on one of the surviving roommates’ cell phone,” Moscow city’s police department wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday without revealing the identity of the caller.
“Multiple people talked with the 911 dispatcher before a Moscow Police officer arrived at the location. Officers entered the residence and found the four victims on the second and third floors,” the department added.
At the time of the incident, two of the roommates were at the residence. However, the department reiterated that “detectives do not believe any individual at the residence when 911 was called, is involved in this crime”.
They had earlier stated that the two roommates arrived back at home around 1am, not long before the murders were thought to have taken place. However, once the roommates were home, they fell asleep and didn’t wake up until “later on November 13th”, Moscow police said, helping to explain why a 911 call didn’t arrive to police until noon later that day.
According to the authorities, two of the surviving roommates of the victims “summoned friends to the residence because they believed one of the second-floor victims had passed out and was not waking up”.
The details come as Moscow police chief James Fry claimed authorities received over 600 tips and have conducted 90 interviews in the investigation of the week-old murder case.
The investigators have also sought surveillance video from businesses and residences near the campus, which last saw a homicide about five years ago.
Police said Chapin and Kernodle were at Sigma Chi house on the University of Idaho campus and returned home around 1.45am on 13 November. They added that Mogen and Goncalves were at a bar called The Corner Club in downtown Moscow. The two had left the bar and stopped at a food truck and then also returned home at about 1.45am.
Mogen and Goncalves also made multiple calls to a male who police haven’t identified. Mr Fry on Sunday said police believe those calls have no connection with the killings.
Another person wearing a hooded sweatshirt and seen in a video at the food truck near Mogen and Goncalves shortly before they returned home is also not involved in the crime, police said. Additionally, a private driver who gave Mogen and Goncalves a ride home was not involved in the crime either, said authorities.
The police has requested the public to have patience as they “work through this investigation”.
“We know that people want answers — we want answers, too,” Idaho State Police Colonel Kedrick Wills said. “Please be patient as we work through this investigation. 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.”
“It’s a complex and terrible crime,” Mr Fry said, “and it will take some time to resolve”.
Meanwhile, University president Scott Green said instructors have been told to prepare for a possible hybrid teaching system that includes in-person and remote learning for students not comfortable returning to campus after the fall recess – which includes Thanksgiving – ends after this week.
“While we certainly hope there’s a swift closure with the arrest of whoever is responsible for this crime, we must also be prepared for all the possibilities, including a lengthy investigation,” Mr Green said.
Additional reporting from the wires
