Following the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students on Sunday — a scene so grisly, blood was actually seeping from the house — James Fry, chief of Moscow police, is urging Idaho residents to “be aware” and watch out for each other, as the unidentified killer is still “out there.”
Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, were found stabbed to death after police received a call at noon on Sunday. According to the cops, the victims were killed up to nine hours earlier, between 3 – 4 a.m. that morning.
“‘There is still someone out there who committed four horrible, horrible crimes,” Fry told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday. “We all have to be aware of our surroundings, and make sure we’re watching out for each other.”
While Fry stated that police believe it was a “targeted” attack, he stressed, “We need to be aware.”
(Video: YouTube)
“The individual is still out there,” the police chief said. “We cannot say there is no threat to the community.”
Fry also confirmed that two additional, unnamed roommates were inside the house when police arrived on the horrifying scene, though it was not clear if they were the ones who called them.
“The report that we got was that there was an unconscious individual,” he said. “It wasn’t until our officers got onto the scene, to do a wellness check, that we found the scene we found.”
C. Scott Green, president of the University of Idaho, also addressed the press, saying the murders are “simply beyond comprehension.”
“Our condolences to the families and friends of Ethan, Xana, Kaylee and Madison,” the emotional Green said. “Their loss is devastating, and they were bright lights in our community.”
Camera footage of at least two of the four murdered students has emerged showing Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves ordering from a food truck and laughing with other students just two hours before their tragic demise.
The video, taken by local food truck operators Grub Trucker, has quickly gone viral.
(Video: YouTube)
The girls order carbonara pasta, the Daily Mail reported, talk to an unidentified man, and, at 1:53 a.m., head, presumably, back home.
According to Fry, all four of those who were killed were at the house by 1:45 a.m.
Upon arriving on the scene, Fry says police discovered no signs of forced entry, nor any indication that anything was stolen.
“We’re not 100 percent sure if the door was unlocked, but there was no damage to anything and the door was still open when we got there,” Fry said.
Asked if they believe, as Moscow’s Mayor suggested, that the crime was one “of passion,” Fry said the department isn’t ruling it out. Investigators are looking into social media posts and any potential boyfriends or relationships that could provide a clue to the murderer’s identity.
“We’re looking at everyone,” he said. “We’re going to make sure nothing goes unturned.”
Meanwhile, Autumn Goncalves, younger sister to Kaylee, took to Instagram and begged parents of University of Idaho students to take them out of school and bring them home.
“If you have friends, family or loved ones in Moscow our family encourages you to get them home,” she wrote in a post that included a picture of Kaylee with her best friend, Madison. “Police say ‘isolated, targeted attack’ but it is isolated until it isn’t.”
“No one is in custody therefore no one is safe,” she continued. “Whoever did this to my sisters (Maddie & Kaylee) Xana and Ethan is still out there and if he is sick enough to murder FOUR sweet, innocent humans so brutally, he is sick enough to do it to anyone else.”
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“This person is dangerous and he is not in custody!!! How police say ‘no threat’. MAKES NO SENSE,” she stated. “My sister’s ( Maddie and Kaylee) did everything right. They went out together, they locked their doors. they were smart and they were fighters and this STILL happened.”
“No one is safe,” the grieving sibling said. “Please get your loved ones home.”
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