(Photo : Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Authorities warn about harassment and the spreading of misinformation in connection with the investigation of the Idaho College Murders.
Four weeks after the killings of four University of Idaho students in their beds, the suspect remains at large. Though, investigators said they hold crucial information that might help solve the crime.
According to Moscow, Idaho, police, between three and four in the morning on November 13, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, died at a rented home on King Road, only a short distance from school.
While no suspects or individuals of interest have been publicly identified, police say they are receiving excellent information in the Idaho College Murders investigation, according to Fox News.
Particularly when they provided more Idaho murders update on Wednesday and pleaded for assistance in identifying the owner or owners of a white 2011 to 2013 Hyundai Elantra that was seen around the victims' house around the time of the killings.
Anyone riding in the Elantra might have "critical information" to provide in the Idaho College Murders, according to the police.
Robbie Johnson, a police department spokesperson, was questioned about the absence of a reward and if one was in the works. She said authorities were busy sorting through the many tips they had received about the four murders.
She said that investigators continue to receive "good tips and lead" and are "focusing on those" at present.
According to Joseph Giacalone, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and former NYPD sergeant, the police are likely making progress discreetly behind closed doors.
Nonetheless, an incentive like a reward might encourage witnesses of the Idaho killings to come forward with information that police could not obtain at the site of the crime or via various forensic methods.
Authorities Warn Over Harassment, Misinformation
The Moscow police department released a statement on Friday, December 9, indicating that they have been monitoring the internet and are aware that rumors are being disseminated regarding the Idaho murders update.
According to the authorities, per KTVB 7, there have been reports of harassing and threatening conduct directed at persons who may or may not have any connection to the Idaho killings case.
Threats or harassment may result in criminal prosecution, authorities warned.
Police advise against internet rumors and to trust official sources regarding the Idaho College Murders.
The murder investigation involving four students from the University of Idaho has garnered a lot of interest online and on social media, but police have not identified any particular sources of misinformation or abuse.
Convicted Murderer Not Connected With The Killings
Meanwhile, contrary to what online amateur investigators assert, the wife of a convicted murderer said her husband had nothing to do with the crime.
The name of convicted murderer James Curtis Leonard from Idaho has appeared in online forums and comment sections following the killings of the four University of Idaho students, the New York Post reported.
According to The Daily Mail, his wife argued that Leonard "had nothing to do" with the murders, although he was convicted of manslaughter in 2007 for the shooting death of a man outside his Genesee home. Leonard claimed he acted in self-defense.
"People on the internet are trying to pin the murders on him," she noted, as per a news report, despite her husband's arrest last week for allegedly abusing and stalking her. Leonard was arrested on Tuesday and is now being detained in jail on a $100,000 bond.
Police have stated that Leonard, 39, had no connection to the Idaho College Murders.
According to his wife, Leonard was present at home during the time of the crime. The couple resides in a trailer park a mile from the house where the students were killed.
Related Article: Idaho College Murders Update: Neighbor of Slain Students Reveals Shocking New Detail, Police in Search of New Lead
