Idaho university murders: Roommates and ‘other friends’ ruled out by police as suspects
Rachel Schilke
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The Moscow Police Department has ruled out the two surviving roommates of the four murdered University of Idaho students, as well as additional friends that were in the home at the time of the 911 call, as suspects in their investigation into the brutal murders that took place on Nov. 13.
University students Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were murdered in their beds, and each was stabbed in both the chest and upper body with a large knife.
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Police arrived around noon to find the students dead after receiving a 911 call reporting an unconscious person at the house. Moscow Police Chief James Fry said in an update on Sunday that the 911 call was made from a roommate’s cellphone, but the identity of the caller is unknown.
The roommates reportedly called an unknown number of friends to the house when they discovered the victims were unresponsive in their beds, police said.
“Multiple people talked with the 911 dispatcher before a Moscow Police officer arrived at the location,” per a statement from Moscow police.
Fry said at this time, investigators do not believe anyone who was at the house when the call was made is the killer, but police still do not have a suspect.
Kernodle, Mogen, Goncalves, and Chapin were all members of a sorority or fraternity. The women were roommates and Chapin was dating Kernodle.
Police were able to build a timeline from the night before the victims’ deaths. Mogen and Goncalves were at Corner Club in downtown Moscow from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. At 1:40 a.m., they stopped at a food truck before coming home at 1:45 a.m. Kernodle and Chapin were at a fraternity party at Sigma Chi from 10 to 11 p.m. and then were unaccounted for until 1:45 a.m. when they arrived back at the women’s house.
They were killed between 3 and 4 a.m., according to Moscow Mayor Art Bettge. Police found their bodies on the second and third floors. The two female roommates were home at the time of the deaths but were not harmed, according to Fry. Police did not specify what floor the roommates’ rooms were on.
Officers warned the public to only rely on official channels for accurate information.
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“Rumors and speculation continue circulating about the ongoing investigation,” police wrote. “MPD cautions the public not to rely on rumors and remains committed to keeping the public informed.”
Moscow police will hold another news conference on Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the University of Idaho.