(Photo : Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Police in the US who are looking into the horrifying and puzzling deaths of four Idaho college students have disclosed what is being called the most precise and significant lead made public to yet.
The tragic stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, whose neighbors allege they observed the front door wide open hours after the killings, are still unresolved nearly four weeks later.
A few yards from campus, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were discovered dead on November 13 hours after being allegedly attacked while sleeping, according to authorities.
Idaho College Murders
The front door, which leads to the level where two other roommates were unhurt, was wide open about 8:30 a.m., the neighbor told Fox News. According to the police, the stabbings took place between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., while the victims were asleep and while Moscow police officers were attending to an unconnected situation a hundred yards away.
Around midday, one of the two surviving roommates dialed 911 to report a potential "unconscious person." Regarding how they think the murderer entered and exited the house, authorities have remained silent.
A spokesperson told Fox News on Thursday that "that sort of material is part of the investigation and not shared" in response to a question about the condition of the front door when police arrived.
According to the University of Idaho, Chapin was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and studied in management of recreation, sport, and tourism. Investigators suspect that he and Kernodle spent the most of the evening at his frat house across a field from the crime scene before going back to her residence about 1:45 a.m.
Two other roommates who resided on the first floor and had an open door also made it out alive. When they were discovered stabbed to death, Goncalves and Mogen were thought to be sharing a bed on the third floor.
Additionally sharing a bed when they were most likely slain on the second floor were dating couple Kernodle and Chapin, according to NY Post.
Police have not confirmed the strange information provided by the neighbor concerning the door, and they have provided very little information regarding the investigation into the quadruple murder as the case drags on and the grieving community becomes tired.
Police don't seem to have any suspects despite help from the FBI, and they haven't made the probable killer's profile public. James Fry, the chief of police in Moscow, has assured that the case is not going cold. Authorities did confirm on Wednesday that they are looking for the occupants of a white Hyundai Elantra from 2011 to 2013 who may be in possession of "important information" about the killings.
The Idaho Statesman says that the police in the typically peaceful college town swiftly deployed 29 of its 31 sworn officers to the probe after the deaths of the four college students on November 13. There were 24 patrol policemen, four detectives, and five of the 10 support personnel from the Moscow Police Department among them.
A mobile crime scene unit, forensic services, and 44 FBI agents were sent to the investigation after police also called the Idaho State Police and the FBI to request help that afternoon. The police department stated late last week that it was shifting to a more analytical phase of its inquiry, and patrol officers were put back to work performing more typical tasks.
There are now just six detectives working on the case, along with four departmental support staff members, four additional FBI agents, and six less ISP officers, which is a 25% drop in the total number of law enforcement officers assigned to the case.
White Car Seen Near From Night of Idaho Student Murders
The white Hyundai Elantra was in the "immediate area" of the house where the four students were discovered dead last month, and the authorities are now seeking any information about it. The vehicle was discovered close to King Road on November 13 in the "early morning hours," the same morning that Goncalves, Mogen, Kernodle, and Chapin's housemates discovered their deaths.
Police did not specify why they think the car may be connected to the killings, just that the people inside "may have crucial information" about the murder investigation.
The four college students are said to have died quietly in their beds after a Saturday night out.
While Xana and Ethan attended Ethan's fraternity house, which was only a short distance from Xana's home that she lived with Kaylee and Madison and where they were slain, Kaylee and Madison had spent the evening at a sports bar and food truck. Her injuries were more severe than those of Xana, her boyfriend Ethan, or even Maddie, who was in bed with her when they were killed on November 13. This information was later provided by Kaylee's family.
Theories that she was the focus of the quadruple homicide are supported by the fact that her injuries were "much more horrific" than those of the other victims. Police are currently investigating Ethan and Xana's movements on that terrible night, albeit they have denied telling the family this information, as per Daily Mail.
Related Article: Idaho College Murders: Expert Believes Killer Left DNA Behind, But There's a Problem
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