The younger sister of one of the slain victims of the University of Idaho quadruple murders is urging others to leave town while the killer remains elusive.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Moscow police said Ethan Chapin, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were found dead inside a residence off of King Road Sunday morning, near the University of Idaho campus.
A local official described the slayings as a “crime of passion” — although the official who made that comment, Mayor Art Bettge, later said that was just one of several possible scenarios — while Moscow police initially indicated that it was an “isolated, targeted attack, and there is no imminent threat to the community at large.”
The victims were found dead from what police described as a knife or edged weapon attack, although the weapon has not yet been located. No suspects have been named at this time.
View this post on Instagram
“If you have friends, family, or loved ones in Moscow our family encourages you to get them home. Police say ‘isolated, targeted attack’ but it is isolated until it isn’t,” Kaylee Goncalves’ younger sister, Autumn, wrote in an Instagram post. “No one is in custody therefore no one is safe.”
“Whoever did this … is still out there and if he is sick enough to murder FOUR sweet, innocent humans so brutally, he is sick enough to do it to anyone else.”
Police arrived at an off-campus residence near the school at around noon Sunday, after someone called for help regarding an unresponsive person on King Road. The victims were later found dead inside the residence.
In a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Moscow Police Chief James Fry said that although he believes the victims were targeted in an isolated attack, he cannot assure the public is safe until those responsible are found.
“We do not have a suspect at this time and that individual is still out there,” Fry told reporters, according to a recording of the press conference provided by KTVB-TV. “We cannot say that there is no threat to the community, and as we have stated, please stay vigilant, report any suspicious activity, and be aware of your surroundings at all times.”
Fry said that Chapin and Kernodle had been at an on-campus party earlier in the evening, while Mogen and Goncalves were at a bar downtown before returning home sometime after 1:45 a.m. Sunday.
Investigators believe the killings occurred in the early morning hours of Sunday, hours before police received a call around noon reporting an unconscious person in the home.
There was no sign of forced entry and police have not located the murder weapon.
Two other roommates who lived at the residence were home at the time of the attack, Fry told reporters.
It is not clear whether those individuals were aware of the slayings at the time they occurred or why they had not reported the stabbings earlier. Fry declined to reveal what they told investigators and whether the 911 caller was one of the surviving roommates, although he said both were home when police responded.
“We don’t know why that call came in at noon and not the middle of the night,” Fry told reporters.
Fry added that the other roommates who were home were not injured and that whatever happened inside was not a hostage situation.
“We’re not just focusing on them,” Fry told reporters. “We’re focusing on everybody that may be coming and going from the residence.”
Local, state and federal authorities are continuing to investigate and collect evidence from the scene, while autopsies of the victims were set to occur today.
Colonel Kedrick Wills, director of the Idaho State Police, said all resources are being brought in to identify those responsible for the murders.
“We want to do everything we can to make sure this is done correctly and that the people that are responsible for this are brought to justice,” Wills told reporters.
Fry urged anyone with information to call a tip line at 208-883-7180.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves (left); Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle;/InstagramInstagram]
Additional reporting by Jonathan Anderson
