Six people were listed on the lease at the off-campus house where four University of Idaho college students were brutally slain last month, but Moscow police say they believe one of the roommates was not at home the night the murders took place.
Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves were found stabbed to death on on the morning of November 13 by two roommates who apparently slept through the massacre on the two floors above them. Chapin, Kernodle’s boyfriend, did not live at the house but was spending the night, as CrimeOnline has reported.
“Detectives are aware of a sixth person listed on the lease at the residence but do not believe that individual was present during the incident,” police said in a statement on Facebook.
Police did not say if they believe the sixth roommate may have been involved in the murder or had been cleared. They have said the two roommates who were present were not involved.
Investigators say they do not have a suspect in the murders, nor have they found a murder weapon. They have been inquiring about a fixed-blade knife, however.
Hundreds of students gathered at the university’s football stadium Wednesday night, when family members made emotional comments.
“The only cure to pain is love — it’s the only thing that’s going to to heal us; it’s the only thing that’s going to heal you,” Steve Goncalves, the father of Kaylee Goncalves, said, according to CBS News. “That will make a difference, and that’s something they can see where they’re at right now: That you changed your life a little bit, that you’re a little bit nicer, a little bit kinder.”
Stacy Chapin, Ethan’s mother, told those gathered that Ethan and his triplet brother and sister chose the University of Idaho because they wanted the small town feel. Now, she said, the family is “eternally grateful that we spent so much time with him.”
“That’s the most important message we have for you and your families — it’s 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,” she said.
Madison Mogen’s father, Ben Mogen, spoke about his pride for his daughter and her lifelong friendship with Kaylee Goncalves. Kernodle’s family was unable to attend.
Late Wednesday, after a day of back and forth with the county district attorney, police released a statement again saying they believed the attacks were “targeted,” but they weren’t certain if someone specific was targeted or if the crime was one of opportunity by a perpetrator who targeted the house. They reiterated that statement on Thursday and said the they were the only official source of information, not the district attorney.
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[Featured image: Left, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle; Top right: Kaylee Goncalves; Bottom right: Madison Mogen/Instagram]
