The mother of one of the four victims stabbed to death near the University of Idaho campus says she’s concerned the killer may try to attend her daughter’s funeral if he is not apprehended beforehand, KHQ-TV reports.
“It makes me sick thinking that person could be right behind us,” Kristi Goncalves, mother of Kaylee Goncalves, told the television station.
Kaylee, 21, was found dead last Sunday at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, along with 21-year-old Madison Mogen, 20-year-old Ethan Chapin and 20-year-old Xana Kernodle.
Investigators say the four were stabbed to death between 3 and 4 a.m. on November 13. Their bodies were found on the second and third floors of the home.
Two roommates were at the residence at the time of the slaying but were not attacked. Authorities have said the surviving roommates are not believed to be involved in the murders and “did not wake up until later on November 13th.”
A 911 call was placed using a phone belonging to one of the roommates shortly before noon on Sunday, prompting police to investigate.
In the interview with KHQ-TV, Kristi said she believes the killer likely knew the victims.
“This is a small town, a college town, and I feel they knew this person,” Kristi told the television station. “We absolutely don’t know that, but I feel that in my heart. I don’t know why.”
Kaylee had just recently been home in Rathdrum, Idaho, about 100 miles north of Moscow. She decided to drive down to show her friends a vehicle she had recently purchased on her own. The college senior was set to graduate in December and already had a job lined up.
Kristi’s final conversation with her daughter would be on Saturday when Kaylee called her mom around 2:30 p.m.
“We talked a lot,” Kristi told the television station.
Kristi texted Kaylee late Sunday morning but did not receive a response. She didn’t think anything was wrong — until she got a knock on the door from police.
Kristi speculated that the assailant must have gone to some length to plan the attack, although police have not confirmed any details about what, if any, kind of planning may have been involved.
“This person somehow snuck into the house, whether it was a door or window, he was not invited,” Kristi told KHQ-TV. “He came in with a weapon with intention to kill. Not just one, but four. One right after another, after another, after another.”
The family is in contact with police on a daily basis but thus far law enforcement has not been able to provide any significant answers about why the killings happened or who is responsible.
Kristi urged those responsible to surrender.
“Turn yourself in,” the grieving mother said in a message to the attacker, according to KHQ-TV. “Stop all this. Let us mourn our children. We can’t with this person out there. Just end it. The guilt has to be overwhelming. Stop hiding.”
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[Featured image: Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves (left)Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle;/Instagram]
