Monday 21 November 2022 12:41 AM Cops say others were in the house on the night of Idaho murders, but still have ... trends now
In a press conference held Sunday afternoon, police in Idaho said they still have no promising leads a week after four University of Idaho students were found brutally murdered.
Moscow Police Department Chief James Fry shared that there were other people in the house on the night of the slayings, aside from the two roommates who were uninjured.
Fry also debunked a rumor that the killer may have made the 911 call that brought the police to the Moscow, Idaho, residence where Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were found stabbed to death.
The chief stated that the call, placed at 11.58am, was made from the phone 'of one of the surviving roommates,' but did not share which person it was.
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The four University of Idaho students who were found dead in off-campus housing
Investigators has previously disclosed that Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, the two other residents of the off-campus house, were at home on the night of the attack.
Now, officials say there were in fact others in the home the night that the group of young students were killed.
'There was other friends that had arrived at the location,' Fry said Sunday, confirming speculation that others were in the home on the night of the murder.
Upon arrival at the home, police located the four victims - two on the second floor, two on the third floor.
'Some of the victims had defensive wounds and each victim was stabbed multiple times,' said Moscow Police Captain Roger Lanier.
Lanier confirmed that they have ruled out Mortensen and Funke in connection this crime, as well as a male who is seen on camera at the food truck that Goncalves and Mogen stopped at before going home.
'Any online reports stating that the victims had been tied and gagged are not accurate,' Lanier said, after also confirming that there appeared to be no signs of sexual assault.
Police still have not arrested any suspects a week out from the crime nor have they recovered the weapon used to gruesomely kill the four students.
Kaylee Goncalves (left) and her best friend and roommate Madison Mogen
Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle. Kernodle lived at the house with the other two women who were killed, plus two more roommates. Chapin, Kernodle's boyfriend, was staying at her home
Lanier said Sunday that Goncalves and Mogen had arrived home from a night out around 1.45am, around the same time that Chapin and Kernodle made it back from a different party.
The two other roommates had also been out but had gotten home around 1am, police said.
As of Sunday, November 20, Fry and Lanier said that more than 640 tips have been received and investigated.
The Moscow Police Department has assigned four detectives, 24 officers, and five 'supportive staff' to the case in addition to welcoming the assistance of the Idaho State Police and the FBI.
Despite the numerous agencies investigating, it could still be some time before answers emerge.
Fry confirmed that they still had not identified a suspect in Sunday's killing, and confirmed there were two roommates in the house at the time of the murders
James Fry, chief of Moscow police, is seen on Wednesday addressing a press conference
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said last week the already complex investigation has been hampered by the Thanksgiving holiday because many potential witnesses are students who have already left the small college town of Moscow for the break.
Speaking in an interview with DailyMail.com, Thompson said: 'I have heard nothing to indicate they have identified a viable suspect or heard evidence that could lead to a suspect.'
He added: 'It could very well be [a lengthy investigation] – I think that all depends on the answers they're able to find.'
'If they're lucky, they will find answers for who is responsible for this and what happened quickly, or it could be they don't get those answers quickly and have to keep digging.'
Thompson's comments came as the Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt released the official autopsy results and listed stabbing as the cause of death for all four victims.
Mabutt told NBC News the four had 'extensive ' wounds and the murder weapon would have been 'a bigger knife.'
'It's pretty traumatic when you have four dead college students who have been stabbed to death in one location,' Mabbutt said.
'We're looking to see if there are some clues that are on them – some of the suspect's blood, perhaps, or something under somebody's fingernails.'
The crime happened between 3 and 4am, police confirmed.
Cops are seen investigating tire marks outside the Moscow, Idaho property where four students were murdered last week, as the hunt for their killer continues
Police received a 911 call at 11.58am with a report of an 'unconscious person' but discovered a bloodbath and pronounced all four dead at the property with death officially declared at noon according to the autopsy report.
Sources close to the investigation described the scene inside the home as 'the worst they've ever seen'
