TRANSCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW WITH AARON SNELL
22ND DECEMBER.
Levy - Joining me to discuss the very latest in this investigation is Aaron Snell. He's a Public Information Officer, for the Idaho State Police, which is assisting Moscow Police with this investigation, along with the FBI and he's serving as a spokesperson for Moscow PD. Aaron, welcome to sidebar. Thanks for coming on.
Snell - Thank you for having me today. I appreciate it.
Levy - Aaron, what is the very latest?.
Snell - So at this point in time we're still processing through our tips and our leads and we're really working on developing a full picture of what occurred the night of the incident and, as well, the nights before. We're trying to add context. That way our investigators really have a full idea of what occurred and which direction that they need to go.
Levy - The last time we spoke, when I was in Idaho a couple of weeks ago, you said that the picture was becoming more clear. A couple of weeks has passed now. How much more clear is that picture now?.
Snell - We keep using this picture analogy, but it is true. The further we get into this, the more evidence that we receive back from our crime labs., we've been receiving all along now. The more analytics that we have, the more that we're able to see really what occurred. Again, we use the word context. We're trying to develop context. Talking with the various people that were around the victims that night. And we've done over 250 interviews. So really we are getting a clearer picture as we go. You know, the question then becomes how long does it take to have a full picture?. We're not sure. This is a very complex investigation. Has a lot of different in's and outs on it. And so from the crime scene itself to the fraternity house, to the businesses downtown. There's a lot of things that we need to know and there's potential for a suspect or suspects to be in any of the pictures or any of the videos. And so we really have to review things and take a really thorough look at this.. at this entirety of the crime.
Levy - You know, Captain Lanier said, in one of the videos recently, that you all have been able to see patterns and it sounds like patterns from your leads and possibly from the video. And he was talking about how they are confident, you all are confident, that somebody in that white Hyundai Elantra, between the years of 2011-2013, has information that is critical to this case. That to me sounds like - saying you're confident, you're pretty certain and it sounds like that vehicle from.. we've heard it was in the immediate area and we've also heard through another spokesperson that it was there. How close was this Hyundai Elantra to the house?.
Snell - We haven't exactly specified, but we do believe that it was in the immediate area of the residence around the time frame that, we believe, was the night of. And so we think that the occupant or occupants of that vehicle, potentially saw or heard or knows something about this case. And so that's why we put the information out. The information came through tips and leads and, so, as we processed it, we think that the occupant has some information to provide to us, which is why we put it out.
Levy - I've likened the search for this Hyundai Elantra to a search for the needle in the haystack. We know you've eliminated one of those vehicles as being the Elantra, found in Eugene, OR, that had been involved in a vehicle crash, that belonged to a woman and it was registered out of Colorado. So you've already eliminated that one. That leaves 21,999 or so to go. What's the progress on that?. What's the update on working through that list of vehicles?. Because that's a huge number of vehicles and.. Is that a nationwide list or what can you tell us about that?.
Snell - So I'll be a tiny bit more generic about it, but it is a list of vehicles that, potentially, could be in this area. It's received through all sorts of different sources and databases. And so as we look at that list, obviously, you know the ones that could be close to the area might be important and then as the ripples, as it gets a little further out, maybe those vehicles, potentially, would be less likely to be involved in an incident of this nature. And so you know we're able to, as we go through this list, we're looking for, again, different patterns and different trends and so as we're putting it all together, we're hoping that something will come to light and that we'll be able to use that to move forward.
Levy - We noticed too, in one of the recent updates, that about 14 FBI agents have been added to this case. Can you tell us why that number increased last week from 46 to 60?.
Snell - So really what we try to do, when we put out those numbers, is to give people a snapshot in time of what's occurring in this investigation. That's why we update the number of tips and the number of leads and the number of digital images and those types of things that we receive. We would like the public to understand the volume of information that we're processing and the number of people who are currently working on this case. So really that's a snapshot in time. As various projects come and go, those numbers will increase and decrease. And so, saying that we have additional FBI personnel assigned to this case is a little bit of a misnomer. As well, we have, I think, 25 ISP, Idaho State Police detectives assigned to that, most of the ones that are here and working on the case. That doesn't include the other ISP detectives and troopers throughout the entire state who are assisting in interviews and those kinds of things. So really what we're trying to do is - we're just trying to show a picture to our community, letting them know the volume and just the sheer magnitude of this case.
Levy - You have more than 10,000 tips. I think the numbers hovering around 15,000 now. That is a huge number. I don't know if people truly understand how much information that is and how much that is to go through. So how many of these have you been able to rule out as maybe not being fruitful?. Where are you in that process?.
Snell - So I don't have the exact number of tips and leads that we have actually processed through, but what I do know is that a lot of the resources that we're adding to our group, the FBI in particular, the leads and tips go through them and so there's a process to analyse each and every one of those leads and look at and review those leads and then assign them a priority. And so leads that potentially are... based on other information that we have in the case, those are assigned higher priority and we start working on those. But we are dedicated and motivated to process each and every one of those and actually analyse them and review them and make sure that they don't contain something that we really need for this investigation. We truly do believe that there is somebody somewhere out there, or maybe information that has already been provided, that is going to be the key to unlocking this entire crime, this entire investigation.
Levy - I've covered cases in the past where it was almost like a nugget came to the investigators. Something that might seem small, but it was a thread that they pulled on and it kind of just kept.. they kept pulling on it and it led to more information. In your experience, how important is that?. Because it could be just one thing or a couple of things that really open a pathway to leading to who did this.
Snell - That's 100% correct. I truly believe that there's going to be a piece or maybe, potentially, pieces of information out there that are going to connect together, almost like a puzzle. And when they do, it is truly going to open up, open up the doorway, and we're going to have a clear direction in which to go. And I think at that time, it's going to unravel quickly and we're going to be able to make determinations. The interesting thing is the information that we already have, the picture that we've already drawn - that will help us as we move forward to really put together what occurred. And so knowing a lot of those things and putting them together already, is going to help as well. So we recognise the public would like a quick end to this and that's what we would like as well. But these types of cases are large and they take time and so we recognise that there's frustrations out there, a lack of information, but again, ultimately, this is a complex criminal investigation and we will provide as much information as possible and we're always wanting more information as well from the public.
Levy - Speaking of more information from the public - The family of Xana Kernodle has sent out flyers. They sent some out last month and they've sent more out this week. Basically just begging people, asking people, with any information to come forward, whether it's the tip line, whether it's the digital media upload with the FBI site. They sent out, I think, 5000 or so of these flyers in the mail. So talk to me about how important that could be because this happened, a lot of people left campus and left town and you're saying you think there's somebody out there that knows something?.
Snell - We think it's very important and we appreciate that support from the family. We want additional leads as well. Anybody that had looked at some of their past social media posts or past pictures and think something's out of the ordinary, something's odd - we want that information. I think we've been consistent in saying that. The activity that might have been done within those pictures or those videos that people may or may not want to submit to the police. That's not what we're interested in. We're interested in the context of the crime. That way we can piece together aspects of this case. That we get a better picture.
Levy - Chief Fry released a video and said that he was addressing questions about leadership in this investigation. I think I know why he did that. There have been some things said about Moscow PD being too small to handle something like this. Obviously, Idaho State Police and the FBI are assisting with this investigation. He talked about the experience of his command staff. I saw some reporting the other day about the lead detective from Moscow only having two years of experience, but it sounds like he actually has more experience than that, at least, two years with Moscow PD, possibly, but more experience in law enforcement, possibly, military police training and things like that. Can you address that?. Why did Chief Fry feel the need to come out and do that?.
Snell - I do think it's important. There have been statements made in the public and in media and the Chief really wanted to stress that, indeed, this was his investigation. This is his agency. These crimes happened in his jurisdiction and so he is the Chief and he is the one leading these investigations. His command staff has ample experience, 94 years of experience combined. That's a lot of experience for any agency. And so, they have the right to pick whom they want to be in the positions that they are, the investigative teams and they have. The information out there is not always correct and I don't even think it's accurate when it comes in terms of saying that this agency's too small. It doesn't matter the size of the agency. You have a police chief who understands what he's doing. He understands how to get an investigation done and he's able and willing to call in additional resources. I think that's ultimately important. So at this point in time, we have some of the best and the brightest, both from Moscow Police Department, but the ISP and the FBI, all working on this case. And so when you have that much skill and technological wonderment and abilities, and you just have all that investigative skill, that's important and the Chief is the one that brought that all here. And so, when he says we're dedicated and motivated to get this case solved, you have to believe him, because it's true. He's willing to bring in those resources that can help and assist his agency.
Levy - Well, Aaron Snell, spokesperson for Moscow PD and Idaho State Police, thanks so much for joining. We really appreciate it.
Snell - Thank you for your time as well.
