Moscow Police Are Looking For Suspects With A Weapon Such As A Knife.

            Four U of I students were found dead in an off-campus home on Sunday.  Follow our full report here.             
            Develop all
     MOSCOW, Idaho  

Moscow police released new details Tuesday about the homicide investigation into the deaths of four University of Idaho students, revealing that preliminary information suggests a “sharp weapon” such as a knife was used in the attack. Investigators were trying to locate a weapon in what police have described as a slaying of four. They went on to say they believe the attack was isolated and targeted. “There is no imminent threat to the community at large,” police said in a news release. The four victims killed were U of I seniors Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum. junior Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls; and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington. No suspects have been taken into custody, police said. Moscow police, assisted by outside state and federal agencies, are continuing their investigation into a suspicious homicide just off the University of Idaho campus that left four students dead. On Tuesday, police said they had no suspects in custody. Angela Palermo [email protected] Chapin’s mother, Stacy Chapin, told the Idaho Statesman that police called her Tuesday and said the four victims died of stab wounds. Her son was staying the night with his girlfriend, Kernodle, who lived in a single-family home, she said. “They stabbed,” Stacey Chapin said in a Facebook message to the Statesman. “We got the call. I don’t want people making assumptions about our kids. It wasn’t drugs and it certainly wasn’t a passion thing between these kids. Someone entered the house.” Moscow Mayor Art Bettge told the Statesman Monday night that the attack, at the home just off campus in the 1100 block of King Road, occurred between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., although police did not find the victims until noon that day. . He was previously reported by the New York Times as calling the homicide incident a “crime of passion,” but later told the Statesman that it was just one of several possible scenarios he suggested.

Police: We are following all instructions

Mogen, Goncalves and two other female roommates also lived in the home with Kernodle, Maya Hippenstiel, Kernodle’s close friend, said in a Facebook message. Hippensteil has set up a GoFundMe page for Kernodle. Police on Tuesday did not say who lived in the six-bedroom, three-bathroom rental. “It’s part of the investigation,” Moscow police Capt. Anthony Dallinger said by phone. Police said they were following up on all leads and had identified “persons of interest”. They remain focused on establishing a timeline of events as they recreate the activities of the four victims on the night of Saturday, November 12, and the early morning hours of Sunday, November 13. Autopsies on the four bodies of the students were scheduled for later this week, police said. They hope the results will provide more definitive details on the exact causes of the students’ deaths.

Resident: “A lot of people don’t feel safe”

The Latah County medical examiner’s office did not respond Monday or Tuesday to The Statesman’s requests for more information. The student deaths shocked the small North Idaho town of about 26,000 residents — nearly half of whom are the U of I student body. The university is the state’s fourth-largest by population. Moscow resident Natasha Rogers was just getting her work done Tuesday morning at a local sporting goods store. He said the lack of information from police and city officials — nearly 48 hours after authorities first arrived at the crime scene — contributed to the community’s sense of grief over the unimaginable tragedy. “It’s really surreal,” Rodgers said in an interview. “A lot of people don’t feel safe because of the lack of information they’ve given the public. But we’re still going. We are sorry and feel so incredibly sad about what happened in this small town, but there is an unsettling feeling that we don’t feel safe.”

The FBI is involved in the investigation

Idaho State Police and other state and federal law enforcement agencies are assisting the Moscow Police Department in the investigation. The FBI is at least one of the federal agencies involved, an agency spokesman told the Statesman via email Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, Latah County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Mikolajczyk, a 28-year veteran of the department, was outside the home where the four students were killed to make sure no one entered without permission. “I’ve been here a long time and things like this don’t happen often in Moscow,” he said. Mikolajczyk said he has seen and heard of many people fleeing the city as a result of the incident. “They (students) were mocking yesterday,” he said. “A guy came up and said he was leaving Dodge.”

The vigil adjourned, the call for vigilance renewed

A vigil planned for Wednesday was postponed to sometime during the week of Nov. 28 after many students walked off campus. As security concerns persisted, Moscow police declined to explain how or why residents need not worry at the same time they called for vigilance. “At this time, we have shared any information we can without compromising the ongoing investigation,” police said in another news release Tuesday night. “Once we have more information that we can share with the community, the state and the nation, we will.” The university continued to offer mental health counseling and appointments to students and staff, a spokesperson said by email Tuesday. Drop-off services were available to students at the university’s student union building from 8am. until 5 p.m. pacific time. Students were told to come by the dean of students’ office if they needed help. Police are still asking anyone with information about the incident to contact them at 208-883-7054. Reporter Shaun Goodwin contributed. This story was originally published on November 15, 2022 at 9:46 am. Related stories from the Idaho Statesman Kevin Fixler is an investigative reporter with the Idaho Statesman. He previously covered local government, the environment and transportation at The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, California, and the Summit Daily News in Breckenridge, Colorado. He holds degrees from the University of Denver and the UC Berkeley School of Journalism. Support my work with a digital subscription Angela Palermo covers business and public health for the Idaho Statesman. He grew up in Hagerman and graduated from the University of Idaho, where he studied journalism and business. Angela previously covered education for the Lewiston Tribune and the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Support my work with a digital subscription