MOSCOW, Idaho — The University of Idaho held a vigil at 5 p.m. Wednesday night for four students who were murdered in a nearby off-campus home earlier in November.
Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen were all found stabbed to death by a fixed-blade knife in a home on King Road on Sunday, Nov. 13. The three women lived in the house, while the parents of Chapin said that he was staying over that night with Kernodle, who was his girlfriend.
Chapin's mother and Goncalves' and Mogen's fathers spoke at the vigil which was held at an indoor arena on campus. Kernodle's family couldn't make it as they are preparing for her memorial service later this week.
Stacy Chapin expressed her condolences to the other families impacted and spoke about how the University of Idaho felt like the right fit for Ethan and his siblings, who are triplets, to begin the next phase of their lives.
She went on to say that she and the rest of Ethan's family are now turning their attention toward sharing his legacy and talking about the impact he made in his short 20 years.
She said her main message was to urge all present to spend time with their loved ones.
"We are eternally grateful that we spent so much time with him," Stacy Chapin said. "Make sure that you spend as much time as possible with those people, because time is precious, and it's something you can't get back."
Kaylee's father, Steven Goncalves, spoke about how having her as a daughter made him see the world through her eyes.
"You start falling in love with this world they built, you see this world and it changes, you start seeing the beauty of what they have and what makes them special," he said. "That's the world as I see it now, and I never want to see it any other way."
Steven Goncalves also spoke about Kaylee and Madison's close friendship, saying they met in a charter school in the sixth grade and went on to convince their parents to allow them to attend a public high school together, later deciding to attend the University of Idaho together as well. He also said the fact that they were together when they died brought him comfort.
"In the end, they died together, in the same room and the same bed," he said. "It's a shame and it hurts, (but) the beauty of the two always being together, it comforts us, it lets us know they were with their best friend in the whole world."
"It's like a book, like a terrible chapter, but we're going to get our justice, we deserve that," he continued.
Ben Mogen, Madison's father, spoke about how important she was to their family as the first grandchild and the only child of his and her mother.
"She was smart, funny and beautiful, she was nice to everybody," he said.
Ben Mogen remembered Madison as a hard worker, saying she had a job from the time she was barely a teenager. He said they bonded over their love of live music, and one of their happiest memories together was when he won her tickets to a Mac Miller concert that she badly wanted to go to.
He also expressed his thanks to all those who have supported the families impacted.
"All the love and support that everyone out there is showing through this has just been amazing," Ben Mogen said. "You can see how good people can be when something terrible happens, they make you feel loved and supported when it's important."
All three parents who spoke also extended their thanks to the Moscow police, the Idaho State Police and the FBI as they work on the investigation.
The Dean of Students Blaine Eckles also spoke at the vigil, urging students to reach out for help if they are struggling.
"We don't know how long this investigation will take, and we don't know the why behind this horrific crime, but what we do know is that we will all go through this together because that is what the Vandal family does," Eckles said.
The crowd observed a moment of silence for all four students and held up candles displayed on their phone screens to the families who were observing from a suite.
What we know about the murders:
Police say they believe the murders were targeted based on evidence they found at the scene, but have not yet revealed what that evidence is. Investigators are also asking the public to take extra precautions while they work to identify a suspect.
"Always traveling in pairs, knowing where you're going, telling someone when you arrive, and just that kind of general awareness," said Captain Roger Lanier, with the Moscow Police Department.
On Tuesday, a total of five vehicles parked outside the home where the murders took place were towed away by law enforcement, hoping they will lead to clues about the murders.
Investigators said they have looked into over a thousand tips from the community but called on the public to provide more information as they work to piece together what happened.
The night before the killings police say Chapin and Kernodle were at a party on campus and Goncalves and Mogen were at a bar in downtown Moscow. Video also showed the two women at what appeared to be a food truck on Saturday night. All four are believed to have arrived home around 1:45 a.m.
There were two other people living at the house who returned home by 1 a.m. that night. They were not injured.
Police said the surviving roommates and a "private party driver" who drove two of the victims home the night before are not believed to be involved in the crime. They also added that the young man seen in surveillance video at a food truck and a young man that the two surviving roommates called the day of the murders are also not suspects.
A 911 call came into the MPD around noon that Sunday reporting that there was an unconscious person at the house. Police said that a surviving roommate's phone was used to call 911 after finding one of the victims unconscious, believing they had passed out and were not waking up. Police say multiple people were in the house when that 911 call was made. They did not confirm who was speaking on the call but said none of the people present at the time of the 911 call were suspects. When police arrived they found all four victims on the second and third floors of the house.
There was no damage to the front door of the home and it was unlocked when police arrived, leading them to believe there was no forced entry, Moscow Police Chief James Fry said at an earlier press conference.