ID - 4 University of Idaho Students Murdered - Moscow # 6

[girlhasnoname]

So, the question towards the end in the presser...police feel like it was a targeted attack. I got the feeling they think one person was the target, but can't say who, so that rules out a random attack in their minds. Did I get that wrong?

No I agree with you. I think one person might have been an overkill situation and they're still sticking with the word 'targeted' even after a week.

I think they might have a possible suspect in mind, just waiting on DNA, phone records and other things to tie it all together.

MOO

 

[late1]

"A local hardware store manager told the Idaho Statesman that police had stopped by more than once and asked whether the shop had recently sold any Ka-Bar-style knives. The store doesn’t carry the weapon."

University of Idaho murders: police can’t say if survivors are witnesses or suspects - WFIN Local News

Moscow, Idaho, police haven't ruled out as suspects the two roommates who were home when four Idaho college students were slaughtered, an official told Fox News Digital.

wfin.com

Please. This was before the autopsies. Look at every statement since.

Please refer to the LE update: "detectives have contacted local businesses to determine if a fixed-blade knife had been recently purchased." Coroner also said "a big knife."

Nothing about serrations, nothing about Ka-Bar, nothing about hunting, nothing about combat.

 

[pumpfe]

I kept hoping for some questions/clarification on FBI being utilized and any initial ideas. The perp traits, etc. any clarification on behavior analysis division working on it.
Are they - FBI - doing the processing of evidence? (I hope so.)
Does it feel like perhaps there's some evidence that "could" be helpful?
DNA, perhaps?
I'm expecting too much too soon, probably.

Since they mentioned West Virginia then I'm 100% sure the FBI is processing evidence. The FBI fingerprinting facility is in Clarksburg, WV. It's a massive complex.

 

[Erutan]

So, the question towards the end in the presser...police feel like it was a targeted attack. I got the feeling they think one person was the target, but can't say who, so that rules out a random attack in their minds. Did I get that wrong?

bbm
That's what it sounds like.
Keep in mind that LE have 'cleared' people in the past but that didn't mean they still did not want more information from those people ?
Imo.

 

[sunflowermomma]

I am a student at nearby WSU in Pullman. This scenario comes to mind for me.

• Surviving roommates make the 6 phone calls because they hear something and they are afraid
• That person sees the calls in the morning when they wake up and heads over
• They say they heard arguing or fighting but called up and haven't heard anyone, but they were too afraid to go up and check but felt silly calling 911 because noise was normal in their house
• The third party person goes upstairs and sees someone's feet or legs and calls out and no one responds
• He goes back downstairs and says "Call 911, let me talk to them." or "Give me your phone, I need to make a call." and says "passed out" to try and not alarm the surviving girls further or because he saw very little before calling. Easily could have left his phone in his car in a hurry to figure out what was going on after so many calls.

 

[FruitTingles]

I’m glad someone else caught that. He did stumble and there was a big pause. He was trying to figure out what to say.

I’m not sure I’m 100% on board with that answer.

MOO

I fully agree. JMO

 

[Sandra Ade]

I did not get that vibe, he looked to me like someone who thought he was going to get lucky, and when they ran off, he was like, oh well and went the other way.

 

[GMG1999]

The stalker argument no longer makes sense to me. Why kill all 4? It was feasible when there was a hypothesis that some may have been killed because they encountered or witnessed the killer. But as they said today distinctly all 4 were killed in their sleep I can’t see a correlation between that and the stalker obsession with only one individual.

I think you have hit on what I think of the stalker angle as well. If they were all killed in their beds, then to me the stalker is off the table for me. I also struggle with the serial killer angle because two were left alive. I have read people say that it could have been because those girls doors were locked - what if all of the rooms had been locked - would the killer have just left? The fact that the girls on the first floor locked their doors because they thought a party was going on, sounds like to me there was noise. My conclusion still is that the killer is known to the victims, but that also then leads me to wonder what in the world made the killer (s) so mad that they killed 4 people while they slept.

What could be in the crime scene that is so disturbing other than 4 deaths?

 

[chprs]

In my opinion the calls being 'cleared' suggests that they were drunk dials or something similar and not an attempt to alert others to any danger as has been speculated. LE stating the victims were asleep enhances that view too.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

So that means the 2 survivors 1) called friends to come over 2) gave those friends enough time to arrive — and in that time, never called 911 themselves?!? Like what?!

You're assuming the roommates saw the scene. We have no way of knowing that. One or both of them could have had standing plans and hadn't yet left their room for the morning. Imagine if they had plans around noon. They got up, showered on their own floor without going upstairs at all. It's only when they go to open the door to their friends or only when their friends arrive that they notice the blood and/or body.

MOO

 

[Warwick7]

Sorry for the long post but thought this would be helpful. I have jotted down all the important info contained within the presser.

• Chief James Fry – Murders have shaken the community. Continue to mourn victims. Vigorously pursue the investigation and pursue justice. A complex and terrible crime that will take time to resolve. Primary goal is public safety and to bring justice to the victims.
• 640 tips have been received – all will be processed, vetted and cleared. Over 90 interviews have been completed so far. Anyone who has observed notable behaviour, has any additional video surveillance or can provide any relevant information please the call tip line (208) 883-7180 or email tip line at tipline@ci.moscow.id.us
• KG, MM were at a local bar and later at a food truck and arrived home at approximately 1:45am in the early morning of the 13th of November. EC & XK arrived home at approximately 1:45am also. The two surviving roommates were also out in the community that evening but returned home at approximately 1am and didn’t wake until later that morning.
• Investigators aware of phone calls made later that evening by KG and MM. Male who they called is not considered a suspect.
• On Nov 13th at 11:58am a 911 call was placed reporting an unconscious person. The call originated from inside the residence and was made from one of the surviving roomates phone. The person who made the phone call has not been publicly identified and any internet comments are rumours. The 911 caller is not the killer. There were other people at the location other than the roommates when police responded to the 911 call.
• Moscow PD responded and located 4 victims. 2 on the 2nd floor and 2 on the 3rd floor. Not confirmed who was found where as that’s part of the investigation. Autopsies confirmed the identity of all 4 victims and determined COD by stabbing. It is likely all 4 victims were asleep during the attack. Some of the victims had defensive wounds and each victim was stabbed multiple times. There were no signs of sexual assault. Rumors that victims were tied and gagged are not accurate.
• The two surviving roommates, the male seen at the food truck near KG and MM and the private party who provided a ride home to KG and MM that evening are not considered POI/suspects.
• Two areas of interest within the city – generally south of Taylor Avenue to Palouse River Drive and West of Highway 95. Investigators have also canvassed other surrounding areas for surveillance, additional evidence and contacted residents to see if they have heard/seen anything that may be of importance.
• Investigators seized the contents of 3 dumpsters and searched them but nothing of note was discovered. Local businesses were canvassed in regards to any fixed blades that were purchased – the blade has not been located so far.
• Believe attack was targeted due to taking the totality of the circumstances into account. When Chief James Fry was asked if they know if it was one person who was targeted, he stated they are unable to say due to ongoing investigation but still believe it was a targeted attack.
• They are looking everywhere that the evidence leads them. Can’t currently say what community the killer is in. Utilsising every resource to make the location of that individual.
• When asked whether 1 or 2 people were involved – investigation continuing to look at all avenues and they can’t disclose any of that information due to ongoing investigation. Chief James Fry closed questions by saying they don’t know how this happened without waking the other roommates.

Excellent notes.
I did bolden some.

 

[Cyndesleuth]

Do you think the fact that there was an individual who showed college students a knife and then turned himself in, in September and a dog that was skinned alive (Daily Mail upthread) in October feels it could be escalation?

Interesting. Hadn't read that

 

[Blue_Painting]

I’m glad someone else caught that. He did stumble and there was a big pause. He was trying to figure out what to say.

I’m not sure I’m 100% on board with that answer.

MOO

Yes. I'm sure he was well intentioned, but he didn't say that with conviction. imo

 

[kalekona]

I think the house was targeted but not necessarily any one individual.

My brain also believes there were 2 killers, one on each floor- LE said "some" of the victims had defensive wounds- possible the first on each floor was killed easily but the remaining victim on each floor realized something was happening and fought back- I have no reason to come to that conclusion only that it is the most "logical" scenario for my brain.

 

[Alethea]

I'll say some people are very easy to clear because there is direct evidence that shows they were not near the scene of a crime. Other people, who may be just as innocent, are not easily officially cleared because there is not direct evidence of their location.

Imagine a crime takes place in Moscow, Idaho. They think my client did it. My client was on a plane from Boise to LA during that time. LE can quickly confirm checking: plane ticket, if my client boarded, security camera at the airport in Boise, security camera at the airport in LA. They can conclusively clear him based on direct evidence pretty quickly.

Now what if instead my client says he was at his mom's house in Moscow? How do we clear him then? If there's no security cameras showing him coming (and not leaving), you are left looking for witnesses, subpoenaing phone and car GPS, canvasing the neighborhood for security cameras. It may take a while to confirm yes - client WAS home and could not have committed this crime. Or maybe there's no direct evidence either way and you are left tabling someone until you can figure it out.

So IMO "clearing" or "not clearing" someone can be a process. People easily cleared usually means there's some good evidence they were elsewhere. Others may just take longer to decide.

 

[Alpine]

No it doesn't mean that, imo. We don't know to where the friend arrived, ie what door. I think they arrived st the sliding door, saw maybe a non-moving foot on the floor ran down to tell, or to wake the 2 survivors. Imo

Is there MSM to say that a friend arrived after the fact? I don't think that was ever mentioned other than 'friends' being there, whether before or after the fact. Can you provide a link?

 

[jjenny]

Please. This was before the autopsies. Look at every statement since.

Please refer to the LE update: "detectives have contacted local businesses to determine if a fixed-blade knife had been recently purchased." Coroner also said "a big knife."

Nothing about serrations, nothing about Ka-Bar, nothing about hunting, nothing about combat.

Not sure why you think that fixed blade and Kabar can not be one and the same.

Fixed Blades

KA-BAR's heart lies in its fixed-blades. Whether you are hunting, camping, defending yourself, or a collector, there is something in our line for you.

www.kabar.com

 

[tara83]

I still wonder why LE brings up details about Kaylee and Maddie's night out but never mentions where Ethan and Xana were until they got home.

 

[NWguy22]

It had one bit of key info which unless he misspoke was to confirm all 4 were asleep when killed. That’s big IMHO as it removes the - killer bumped into some by chance/had to kill them due to witnesses angle - so I’d be asking now what have the 4 got in common compared to the two who were left alone.

Or, it really was a random (or mostly random) person unfamiliar with the house, who didn’t even know there were other bedrooms.

Or, he/they got spooked by something and left before finishing.

Or, those roommates had doors locked and others did not.

I hope it’s something about those four specifically as that would make it much easier to solve the murders, but I fear that is not the case at this point

 

[Noki45]

I think they had to put the number code in and then they have to go around to open sliding door! Sounds strange but I heard that in an interview with one of the parents I think it was XKs dad!?

Now I’m confused.I’ve never heard of a door that has a passcode you put in that then opens the back sliding door.I assumed it opened the front door only.