ID - 4 University of Idaho Students Murdered - Moscow # 10

[Curiousbutton]

Everyone talking about the dog-hopefully the dog was properly processed. I dont know any dog that wouldnt go over to a stranger in the home even in just a curious who are you way. I guarantee that dog has evidence and possible prints on him.

 

[dalsglen]

uhm, so am i the only one noticing that the person with the dog looks nothing like JD?

Imo, it's his brother.

 

[LittleMsDepp]

The most logical explanation I still believe is that bf/gf Ethan and Xana were the primary targets.

This was a crime of intense passion and furious anger, in my analytical opinion. Someone that couldn’t have Xana or lost the opportunity, IMO. Intense feeling of rejection and was jealous she was happy with new boyfriend, IMO.

Madison and Kaylee were collateral damage, probably witnessed something off and called that old boyfriend 10 times before suffering same fate, IMO.

This is someone that desired Xana, IMO. We need to be looking into Xana’s hometown and former relationships. Everything IMO.

why? is there any reports of jealous ex ? Why would perp continue upstairs killing if rage was for X?

 

[Leve]

This theory relies on Maddie and Kaylee getting home and falling asleep almost straight away, though, since they weren't attacked when they were awake. They had food and make-up on and they would have needed to get undressed and brush their teeth and get a glass of water and whatever else you do when you're drunk. The timeframe of the calls fits for that.

I don't understand why you think that? I think the killer was watching and waiting until everyone was asleep.

 

[TravelingCircusof5]

My comment is in regards to the male at the food truck who has been called ‘creepy’ and ‘watching them.’ When i watched the longer video, not the 1 minute cnn version, he did not look creepy at all. Yes, he did appear to be watching them and waiting for them, but in my opinion, it did not look secretive or creepy. Rather, it looked purposeful and like he was supposed to be watching them and waiting for them. My theory watching it is that somewhere before arriving at food truck, he had been talked into or assigned to walking or driving them home. The girls are clearly very intoxicated, and he is not. Maybe he was a fraternity Designated or assigned to that duty, maybe he is a friend’s little brother, maybe the girls thought he was nice and asked him to drive them.
Then, it starts to turn into more than he bargained for, when they want to stop for food, which ends up taking a long time in the cold, and the girls seemingly forget he is there. He looks bored and ready to go, but he not not appear to be hiding in the shadows. it is awkward for him at first because here are these beautiful girls who he is supposed to help, but they are not friends, they are not dating, and they have forgotten he is there, but they still need his help. So he waits. Eventually he comes over and openly talks to others. It looks likely that he said to the other guy ‘yeah, they asked me to bring them here…’ Then the girls, in their drunk state, decide to do a very BFF girl thing, which is to just run off together and ditch everyone. Hence, he gestures with his hand and says something like “they asked me to bring them here, now they run off and leave me. oh well.“ Basically, he shrugs, ”well, I tried. Guess I can go home now” and walks off.
Maybe because I am the mother of three young men, I feel the need to point this out- taken from that perspective, he looks like he may have just been a truly nice guy who happened to have had an interaction with them before they left and were tragically murdered by someone else.

 

[Txbarfly]

Here's where I'm at, subject to greater enlightenment

Ted Bundy type, sees a house full of pretty blondes. Sneaks in while the house is empty, lays in wait. He was so good at what he did that he killed all four people, attacking them all in their sleep. Didn't even wake up the others in the house. In and out like a ghost. This was planned and executed well enough that there wasn't even a 911 call until 8 hours after he was gone. He won't show up on the truck video or the bar video.

Riders on the storm

By the time I get to the end of my thought process on any theory, I’m immediately confounded by at least one, usually 2-3, of my very own BUT, WHAT ABOUT this counterpoints.

1. Going with a Ted Bundy, fetish for pretty young blondes theory, the killer catches sight of one or more of them, follows them home, and starts casing the house. Once he realizes there are 4 pretty young blondes and a pretty brunette to boot live there, he’s all in.

BUT. Why kill only 2 of the blondes, the brunette, the boyfriend, and leave the other 2 blondes untouched? How can he know with absolute certainty that neither of them witnessed anything? Imo, a killer who brought a combat-style knife to his chosen murder scene and slaughtered 4 people is not going to be deterred by a locked bedroom door. Imo, under this theory, this killer knew the bedroom layout and knew all the girls were home. (See 2.)

2. If he makes entry while the house is empty, does he survey the layout for bedroom locations? Or does he already know? I just got a creepy feeling that — in this scenario — it would be someone who had watched the house, the girls, their comings and goings, and had done a practice run, i.e., entered the house before while empty.

BUT. He has to know that multiple people besides the 5 girls come and go at all hours. I watched the interview video of the 3 neighbors, a young man and a young couple. (Don’t remember the news source of the video so just hope I’m not about to break the rules on my first ever comment as a newcomer to WS.) The gist was that the girls seemed to be quite popular and had small gatherings of friends a few nights a week. It was all described as very normal, typical college student activity with not so much as a hint of wild or over the top behavior. Assuming the killer is aware of this, he’s taking a huge risk by lying in wait when 10-15 college kids could roll in at any time …… which then takes me down the behavioral analysis rabbit hole. Is he risk-averse or impulsive? Is organized or disorganized killer?

Et cetera and so forth. I just want the killer apprehended. The sooner the better.

 

[mrmnjewel]

One thing that bothers me: The murderer must have been covered in blood, yet I don't see any signs that he tracked any outside of the house whatsoever. To me, this indicates one of two possible scenarios--either the murderer had on some sort of coverall that he stripped and bagged before leaving the house, or he showered in the house and changed before leaving. The second scenario seems highly unlikely...but if the first is true, it indicates calculation and planning. MOO, but I believe this was not a rampage carried out by, say, someone at the food truck or someone who got enraged at the bar that night.

I'm inclined to think the murderer had planned this out, and on the night in question simply waited either on the hill or in a car in the parking lot behind the house for the lights to go out--i.e., after the girls quit calling the boyfriend and went to sleep (assuming they had the lights on while they were calling, which admittedly may not be the case).

Again, personal opinion only.

Agreed...That has been nagging at me as well. I tend to think the perp must have been wearing some sort of disposable coveralls which, like you said, would indicate that this was pre-planned. I also think it indicates experience. This is someone who is familiar with the amount of blood a killing such as this would produce and has planned for it.

 

[Kurtotall]

I think the killer snuck in to kill one of the girls upstairs, but they were both sleeping in the same bed. So he had to kill both. The sound awakened Ethan.Then on his way out he ran into Ethan; so he killed them both too. Then ran.

 

[Truthseeker454555]

That’s a really interesting point .. could someone have given her their jacket to wear and used it as an excuse to go and retrieve it at the house?

Oversized blazers are in style these days

 

[sleuthloapf]

Oversized blazers are in style these days

It’s not a blazer it looks like a rain coat, it has a hood

 

[positive]

If the dog was missing outside they would knock on neighbor doors, or call around, there would be people sighting them walking around outside, in the back yard, in the woods, in the parking lot- along any path they may walk with the dog.
We’ve not heard any of that- but of course it was 2AM
Also, they have a fenced back yard, not Sure how that plays into it.
IMO

I have not seen a fence in the backyard.

 

[Txbarfly]

I can see it this way but why no sexual assault? These are intimate murders, or seem to be, so I can't wrap my brain around this unless the killer is female (how did she overpower all of them, even in the dark with drink or drugs in their systems) or unless the target was Ethan. He would be easier to kill in a house with five women rather than a frat house filled with adult males. With Ethan as target, Xana would have to die. But then there's the question of why go upstairs to kill Kaylee and Maddie. The lack of sexual assault makes this look so much different.... does anyone recall another set of murders similar to these?

Does the absence of evidence of sexual assault rule out a psychosexual component to the motive? Are there not psychopathic killers who were unable to perform the sexual act physically but instead derived sexual pleasure from the act of killing itself?

 

[AngTxGal]

I have not seen a fence in the backyard.

Here is an article with pictures of the outside with fenced back yard. The angle is such that you can see the cyclone fence that comes down to neighbors, there is also a cross fence separating the two yards.
Scroll down to article and images taken from the front of the house and you can see the fence line.

What strikes me as interesting watching investigators fly the drone is the aluminum ladder propped up against the side of the 1st floor. Was it there, or added by investigators?
Could that not be used to climb onto the 1st floor roof, and on up to drop down to the balcony Off the 3rd floor bedroom?
It feels a bit silly to watch these guys fly that drone, playing with their toys if that ladder may have fingerprints on it and it is sitting there and not in evidence.

Idaho murders: Inside the off-campus house where 4 students were killed

Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13 is a three-story, six-bedroom, three-bath, single-family home with three doors.

www.foxnews.com

 

[ACG2x]

Has anyone considered the possibility that the perpetrator could have called Jack from both girls phones in an attempt to lure him to the house, in order to frame him for murder/suicide?

If perp had a gun on him, he could have saved that for Jack if he came to the house.

I think that's going just a little too CSI or Law & Order on the case. Calls from girls phones to J were about the dog (Murphy) or the girls were still tipsy from the bar which you can tell as late as 1:40 AM when you hear KG slurring her speech ordering the carbonara on camera and they were drunk dialing him.

I guess I can't rule out that the killer had a gun as well, but if only 1-2 of the victims were the target, then why essentially waste time with the knife stabbing them all? Why not just shoot the ones who aren't the target because that's a lot quicker and less messy then use the knife for the one kill that's more 'personal' to him.

 

[greenpalm]

The murderer must have been covered in blood, yet I don't see any signs that he tracked any outside of the house whatsoever.

Cut-resistant gloves come to mind as pure speculation

Yes, good points.

I lost a classmate to a triple stabbing homicide in the summer of 1985. We were both 14. It was one of the earliest cases that used DNA to get a conviction. Like this case, the victims were caught off guard, likely sleeping. Unlike this case, there was sexual assault, (editing to add) binding, and a clear target; (my friend).

Some important things about the perp in 1985 as they tried to solve it:
•He was likely covered in blood, so investigators speculated he lived nearby and had an easy way out/home
•He was familiar with the house, and the schedules of the victims. (He was a neighbor, among other things)
•He was a person who had knife skills (it turns out he worked in a number of restaurants as a chef, and had made at least one gambit to own a restaurant. I thought of this when I saw a few posts speculating about a spurned customer from the restaurant… what about a spurned guy from the kitchen?)
•He inserted himself into the investigation, spoke with media, etc. We hear about this fairly often with perps

Here's a link to an article about how they caught him. FWIW? It took 6 months to make an arrest.

Technology vs. Trimboli

Ronald Steven Trimboli was accused of the brutal triple murder of three Arlington youths. Police had plenty of circumstantial evidence, but no smoking gun. A controversial genetic test convinced a jury—but the method itself is still on trial.

www.dmagazine.com

 

[chugachance]

What is everyone’s best current theory as of now?

Rage filled loner got mad at Ethan, followed them home from party, on foot, raged on everyone he KNEW was in the house.

 

[ACG2x]

I’m thinking the perp had been to this residence in the past. Appears he was able to navigate two stories in the dark or with a small flashlight making very little noise and not running into furniture, etc. before the attacks. Also he/she either got lucky or knew there were no cameras inside or outside.

Not hard to do at all. Multiple news outlets have reported that talking with neighbors the house was a 'party house' that had people coming and going seven nights a week. Since there were five roommates, their social circles have a pretty wide net with five different people and who they knew (EC didn't actually live there).

Any number of loose connections to their social circle could've tagged along one night and gotten an easy casing of the home. All the roommates posted extensively on social media inside the house as well so you have live video there of the current layout and finally Idaho real estate sites have bright high-res pictures of what the house layout looks like and a schematic floor plan.

Regardless if a perp had been there before, publicly accessible information can easily tell you exactly what is where inside that house. I used Google and knew the layout almost by heart in less than 30 minutes there are so many pics and video.

 

[redcedarblues]

I thought of this too . Exactly as you said . I totally pictured that a customer got the wrong idea and when rejected or ignored got angry . Some older delusional guy .

I agree that this is a likely scenario. Someone who was already on the edge

 

[factorfiction77]

It’s not a blazer it looks like a rain coat, it has a hood

That’s what I thought …

 

[Bnic84]

I think that's going just a little too CSI or Law & Order on the case. Calls from girls phones to J were about the dog (Murphy) or the girls were still tipsy from the bar which you can tell as late as 1:40 AM when you hear KG slurring her speech ordering the carbonara on camera and they were drunk dialing him.

I guess I can't rule out that the killer had a gun as well, but if only 1-2 of the victims were the target, then why essentially waste time with the knife stabbing them all? Why not just shoot the ones who aren't the target because that's a lot quicker and less messy then use the knife for the one kill that's more 'personal' to him.

Shooting is so loud though