Tragedy at University of Idaho

[thetalady]

4 students killed at off campus housing at the University of Idaho. University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21.

Two of the girls were Pi Beta Phi members. The other young woman was an Alpha Phi. The young man was a member of Sigma Chi.

https://www.aol.com/no-clear-answers...031615424.html

[PGD-GRAD]

Oh no! Can you imagine the horror and grief in those houses? And with two Holidays coming up and final exams often after Thanksgiving…I’m so sad for their fellow Greeks let alone their parents and loved ones. May they all be surrounded by love and compassion.

From all I’ve read they keep saying a “crime of passion”. What does that even mean? It is not a murder/suicide apparently.

[JayhawkAOII]

The young man was a triplet - they interviewed his brother in one article I read. This is unbelievably sad and shocking. Neither the police nor the coroner would really comment on possible motives.

[honeychile]

My sincere condolences to the families, friends, and the sororities & fraternity represented. I can't even imagine the horrors of the whole campus.

[FSUZeta]

Two other roommates were home, but unharmed:

https://www.today.com/news/idaho-mur...ible-rcna57649

[PGD-GRAD]

This just keeps getting more weird by the day. Now the police are saying it was “targeted” —but they have no leads nor suspects and the whole Moscow community needs to remain extremely vigilant. And two roommates were THERE?? Good Lord.

If I had a student there, they would have been HOME the next morning and NOT be returning until there is more stability. NOBODY is safe on that campus or in that town—PERIOD. Too many vague replies and unanswered questions….

[FSUZeta]

Agreed. It is a very strange story.

[*winter*]

I understand they might not want to release every detail if they’re working on the case…but people need to know if they’re safe or not. And if they’re not…which it sounds like…take measures to protect them.

[AZTheta]

Cause of death released.

Many links are available; I chose the local news as it appears the least speculative and sensational report. Stabbing is generally described as a very personal method of homicide.

Cannot fathom the horror and the grief.

[thetalady]

The story got even more strange today... there were 2 additional roommates that were unharmed, though home * during * the murders. Apparently they heard nothing, as their 4 room mates were all stabbed in their beds multiple times??? Nothing done to stop the attack, run away or call for help? How could they possibly be in the home and hear nothing? I just pray that the police know a LOT more than they are releasing publicly.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by thetalady

The story got even more strange today... there were 2 additional roommates that were unharmed, though home * during * the murders. Apparently they heard nothing, as their 4 room mates were all stabbed in their beds multiple times??? Nothing done to stop the attack, run away or call for help? How could they possibly be in the home and hear nothing? I just pray that the police know a LOT more than they are releasing publicly.

I seriously might sleep through someone being murdered in the next room. I sleep like a rock.

Some articles say that the victims were out at bars and parties until very late, with one of the victims making phone calls until nearly 3am. Perhaps the other roommates were intoxicated and out of it.

However, FOUR people are murdered and there are TWO roommates who heard and knew nothing? Still seems hard to believe.

Also, what are the details on the call to police? From what I've read, there was a call - don't know from whom - that said there was someone unconscious. Not murdered, just unconscious. Who made the call? Was it a roommate? And why didn't that call come until noon?

There was reportedly no forced entry, but from everything I've read, the roommates aren't suspects.

My instincts tell me the police know SOMETHING, but they're keeping it quiet so as not to spook the suspect(s).

[ASTalumna06]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...mJ8IkYiVIKCc0E

This article was released by the Washington Post this morning. Not sure if anyone can read it without a subscription, but some highlights:

The four University of Idaho students who were killed Sunday in an off-campus house probably were asleep when they were stabbed, the county coroner said, and some of them showed signs of having tried to fight their attacker.
.....

That Saturday evening, Goncalves and Mogen were out at a bar downtown. They stopped at a food truck and hailed a ride home, police said.

They got home at 1:45 a.m., about the same time Kernodle and Chapin returned to the residence after hanging out at the campus’s Sigma Chi fraternity house.
.....

Two other roommates were also home that night, and detectives said they do not believe they were involved in the crime, Moscow police said. Neither of them was injured or held hostage, Moscow Police Chief James Fry has said.

The autopsy showed that Kernodle tried to fight off her killer, according to an interview that KTVK/KPHO conducted with her father, Jeffrey Kernodle. “Bruises, torn by the knife. She’s a tough kid,” he told the Arizona-based station.

He said doors to the home the roommates shared locked automatically and required a code to enter.

“It doesn’t make sense,” he told KTVK/KPHO on Friday.
.....

Police were alerted by a 911 call just before noon Sunday, reporting an unconscious person at the residence. They have not identified the 911 caller; Idaho State Police spokesman Aaron Snell told ABC News on Thursday that neither of the uninjured roommates was the caller.

After initially assuring residents of the northwestern Idaho city that they were not in danger, the police chief at a Wednesday news conference said the killer was “still out there” and told residents to be vigilant. Authorities have said it was a targeted attack, but Fry told reporters, “We cannot say that there is no threat to the community.”

[carnation]

All this is as confusing as the information that the Boulder Police put out when Jon-Benet Ramsey was killed.

[LaneSig]

Originally Posted by thetalady

The story got even more strange today... there were 2 additional roommates that were unharmed, though home * during * the murders. Apparently they heard nothing, as their 4 room mates were all stabbed in their beds multiple times??? Nothing done to stop the attack, run away or call for help? How could they possibly be in the home and hear nothing? I just pray that the police know a LOT more than they are releasing publicly.

Late at night, after (possibly) a night out? The roommates might have been in the same room (I don't know this) and the killer did not enter their room.

If you know anything about Ted Bundy, he entered the Chi Omega sorority house and used a club to attack at least three of the young women. No one in the house heard any of the attacks.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by LaneSig

Late at night, after (possibly) a night out? The roommates might have been in the same room (I don't know this) and the killer did not enter their room.

If you know anything about Ted Bundy, he entered the Chi Omega sorority house and used a club to attack at least three of the young women. No one in the house heard any of the attacks.

Very true. I just went back and revisited pictures of the house where this murder happened, and there are seemingly three stories. With as many bedrooms as you'd need for at least five people, there's a good chance that they're on different floors, making it possible that there was a decent distance between rooms.