The four University of Idaho students slain over the weekend were killed by an “edged weapon such as a knife,” local police said in a statement to The Daily Beast on Tuesday.
It’s the latest detail to emerge about the mysterious killings that wiped out a group of friends inside a home just blocks away from the university. Police in Moscow, Idaho, have been slow to release information about the slayings, emphasizing with each update that much remains unknown.
Cops have not made an arrest in the quadruple homicide, nor have they publicly identified a suspect. Tuesday’s statement said detectives have not found the weapon used in the killing, but determined the victims were stabbed based on their wounds.
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The slaying has rocked Moscow—a college town of just 25,000 that’s largely made up of the university’s 12,000 students, staff, and alumni. The city has not recorded a murder since 2015.
Police identified the victims on Monday as Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Arizona ; and Kaylee GonCalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho.
The three women slain—Kernodle, GonCalves, and Mogen—were all roommates, police said Tuesday.
While local cops have remained tight-lipped about the slaying, Moscow’s mayor, Art Bettge, hinted that the students may have been killed by someone they knew, telling The New York Times it was a “crime of passion.” Police have said the crime was targeted, there was no robbery, and there is not an ongoing threat.
With the alleged killer still on the loose, many in Moscow have become uneasy. Classes were canceled on Monday, but some fearful students have already ditched town to head home for Thanksgiving break early, reported the Associated Press.
University of Idaho President Scott Green acknowledged this fear in a statement on Monday. He urged professors to be empathetic and flexible with students who decided to leave, despite classes officially resuming on Tuesday.
“Words cannot adequately describe the light these students brought to this world or ease the depth of suffering we feel at their passing under these tragic circumstances,” Green wrote.
Moscow police said autopsies have not been completed but are slated for sometime this week. The Latah County coroner told The Daily Beast on Tuesday it would not release details to media without permission from Moscow police.
Now, with the aid of Idaho State Police and federal investigators, Moscow police said they’re working to recreate the victim’s activities leading up to their deaths to establish a timeline of relevant events.
The Instagram page for GonCalves posted a series of photos on Sunday that suggested the victims were friends and spent their final day together. Her final post was a series of photos that showed the friends embracing each other and smiling.
“One lucky girl to be surrounded by these ppl everyday 🤍,” GonCalves’ caption read.
Tributes to the slain students began posting online Monday afternoon, and a vigil is scheduled for 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday evening.
