Personal items belonging to the four University of Idaho students who were brutally stabbed to death last month will start to be returned to their parents on Wednesday, local authorities said. “It’s time for us to give those things back that really mean something to those families and hopefully to help with some of their healing,” Chief James Fry said Tuesday in a statement. “I’m a dad, I understand the meaning behind some of those things.” The items being packed up by law enforcement are “no longer needed for the investigation,” Fry added, noting that the families have “asked for some of those things back.” Three roommates, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, were killed at their Moscow, Idaho, residence on Nov. 13, along with Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20. Police have yet to identify a suspect, murder weapon, or motive, and some of the victims’ families have publicly criticized police delays in sharing information pertaining to the investigation, opting instead to hire their own private investigators to uncover new information in the case.
