SEATTLE — Tuesday marks one month since four University of Idaho students were murdered inside a home near the school’s campus. Investigators say they’ve received what is, at times, an “overwhelming” amount of information. However, to date, they have no murder weapon and no suspect.
In the month since the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin there has been a memorial in Moscow and vigils in Boise and Mount Vernon. The four students were stabbed to death inside the off-campus home on King Road on November 13th.
The community is in mourning while the investigation works in the background.
“It’s overwhelming sometimes with the amount of information that comes in on these tip lines so our analysts have spent hours sorting through and trying to come up with the most relevant tips first for the investigators to follow up on,” said Captain Roger Lanier of the Moscow Police Department in a prerecorded video statement published to the department's YouTube page.
Nearly fifty FBI agents are on the ground in Idaho alongside the state police and local law enforcement. The team has vetted more than one thousand tips. Currently, investigators are on the hunt for a white Hyundai made between 2011 and 2013 that is believed to have been in the vicinity of the home at the time of the murders.
An FBI hotline has been activated to filter the steady stream of information. Retired Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best told KING 5 that public interest can be a powerful tool.
“I’ll be honest, when I hear that they have a large number of tips that’s good news, you would rather the phones be ringing and information coming in,” Best said.
Among the heartbreak, there is frustration from family members and students who say they want answers, as police say there are key details they can’t reveal.
“Absolutely that’s almost always the case where later on we understand why the details weren’t delivered early in the case,” Best said.
Meanwhile, many students have left campus and are taking the university up on its offer to finish the semester online. And as the investigation approaches the thirty-day mark, the Moscow Police Department is reminding people to stay vigilant. They say this is not because of a new or elevated threat but instead a reminder to stay in groups and stay on lit paths.