First ½ of PC 11/20
(typed it up for my mom, but I figured I’ll post here as I go, too)
**Transcript below (NOT OFFICIAL – But I did listen to it at 0.5 speed, check over it while listening again, and know this is not PERFECT, but it's transcribed accurately enough to post here!)
**Starts from the introduction of Captain Lanier, which is ~3:30 min mark if watching the non-wait time version, which has Chief Fry starting right at 0:00
Good afternoon. My name is Roger Lanier. I’m a Captain of the Operations Division of the Moscow Police Department. My last name is spelled L-A-N-I-E-R. I just want to first state that this tragic murder has shaken the community. It’s been very hard for members of the community, and it’s been equally difficult for our officers and for the investigators.
We will continue to put all of our resources towards investigating and bringing this to a resolution. Here’s what we’ve determined so far:
On the evening of November 12, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen were at a local bar and were later at a food truck in downtown Moscow. They arrived home at approximately 1:45am on the morning of November 13. Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were at the Sigma Chi house before also arriving home at approximately 1:45am. Two surviving roommates were also out in the community, and they returned home at approximately 1:00am and did not wake up until later that morning.
On the morning of November 13, at 11:58am, a 911 call was placed to the Whitcom Dispatch Center, reporting an unconscious person. The call originated from inside the residence and was made from the phone of one of the surviving roommates. Moscow Police Dept. officers responded and located four victims: two on the second floor and two on the third floor. The Latah County Coroners conducted autopsies, and detectives have been provided with the results of those autopsies. We know that the autopsies confirmed the identity of the four victims, determined the cause and manner of death as homicide by stabbing, and determined that it was likely all four victims were asleep during the attack. Some of the victims had defensive wounds, and each victim was stabbed multiple times. There was no sign of sexual assault. Investigators have determined the two areas of interest within the city and have provided maps which are on our Facebook page and on our website, and these are areas that they have canvased for additional surveillance video and tips and have contacted several residents in the areas. The areas are generally south of Taylor avenue to Palouse River Drive and west of highway 95. Detectives have also canvased several other neighborhoods looking for evidence, looking for additional surveillance video, and contacting residents and speaking to them to see if they may have heard or seen something.
I want to address several areas of speculation, conjecture, and misinformation that has circulated on social media platforms and otherwise. We do not believe the following individuals are involved in this crime: the two surviving roommates, a male seen at the Grub Truck food vendor downtown, specifically wearing a white hoodie. A private party who provided rides home to Kaylee and Madison in early morning hours of November 13. Additionally, the identity of the 911 caller and the 911 call have not been released... so any information out there is speculation about that. Investigators are aware that multiple phone calls from Madison and Kaylee’s phone were made to a male subject. Any online reports stating that the victims had been tied and gagged are not accurate. Detectives seized the contents of three dumpsters on King Road and searched those dumpsters in an effort to find additional evidence, but nothing of note was discovered. Early in the investigation, local businesses were canvased in an effort to see if any fixed blade type knives may have recently been purchased. And currently, there are no suspects in custody, and we have not located a weapon. I want to assure you that every investigator involved will continue to put all of their resources and all of our partner agencies' resources into continuing this investigation. We do appreciate the community’s support, we understand how stressful it is, and we will continue to work through this situation.
At this time, I would like to turn the mic over to Col. Wills from the Idaho State Police.
Thank you, Captain. My name is Kedrick Wills, and I serve as the Director of the Idaho State Police. And I appreciate your attendance this afternoon as we talk about this horrific, horrific crime. The murders of Ethan, Xana, Madison, and Kaylee are a tragic loss to all of us. Nothing we can do will bring back these young lives. But, we have an absolute commitment to working together to solve these senseless murders. And the way that we know how to do that is partnerships. And our partnership with a Moscow Police Department, with the Idaho State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the University of Idaho to bring this issue to a conclusion and bring this to justice is absolute. We continue with the Idaho State Police resources here on the ground in Moscow and throughout Idaho. Whatever the needs are... that’s what we want to do. And the chief spoke about the Idaho State Police resources that are here, and he spoke about patrol resources, and we have those uniformed troopers here in Moscow and on the campus of the University of Idaho to help people to feel safe and to provide that sense - that security - to the people that are here, both the student body and the community at large. And we will continue to do that as long as necessary at this time. In addition to our forensics team that was here too, in addition to our investigative team and all the other state police resources.
We know that people want answers. We want answers, too. As was already mentioned, this is really, really difficult for those investigators, those dedicated professionals who are investigating this crime. And a lot of people have expressed their desire to help. And the best thing that most people can do to help is to stop with any kind of rumors and just seek official information that comes out of the Moscow Police Dept. Anything that we have that we can share from a law enforcement perspective, we will be sharing just as soon as we can. Because that’s how we think we can get this to a conclusion. Please, please rely on official sources of information, and please be patient. I understand that everybody wishes that this was solved already, but these things take time. It takes time to work through. You heard the stats of all the tips and interviews and everything that’s been done. This takes time for our investigators to work through. (Missed a sentence here)** We owe this to these young kids. These young adults. We owe it to them. And we are absolutely dedicated to make sure that that happens.
Thank you. At this time, I’d like to introduce the Idaho University President, Scott Green.
