Police Spokesman Explains Why Information Relating To Murder Of Four University Of Idaho Students Is Being Kept From Public

Police in Moscow, Idaho, aren’t releasing all the information they have regarding the murder of four University of Idaho students in order to zero in on a suspect.

It’s been two weeks since Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Ethan Chapin, 20; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Madison Mogen, 21, were murdered in their off-campus residence – and police still have no suspects. On Sunday, Aaron Snell, spokesperson for the Idaho State Police, told Fox News’ “Lawrence Jones Cross Country” that while investigators “don’t currently have a suspect,” keeping certain information from the public “is going to be critical into trying to develop that.”

“Obviously, you’ve got somebody that’s on the loose right now. There’s a lot of fear with the public based on what you guys have been able to collect. And you have profilers on the team, [behavioral analysis] unit is here, why not go ahead and release that profile?” Jones asked Snell, according to Fox News.

“It will potentially put more fear, more suspicion on a wide variety of people versus if we use that to really refine where we’re at in our investigation. I think that will be more pertinent,” Snell replied. “And so if we just provide information to the public, I just don’t think that that’s going to be a wise choice.”

Not much has been revealed to the public in the two weeks since the homicide, and police have continued to say they have no suspects and have not found the murder weapon, believed to be a fixed-blade knife.

On Friday, Moscow police said in a press release that a 1999 double stabbing in Pullman, Washington, and a 2021 double stabbing in Salem, Oregon, were unrelated to the recent murders in Idaho. A press release from Sunday addressed the fear permeating the Moscow community, noting the police department has received an increase in calls about unusual circumstances and requests for welfare checks on loved ones.

Police responded to a call around noon on November 13, reporting an unconscious person at an off-campus residence. When they arrived, they found the four murdered students.

Authorities have also said they do not believe that the two surviving roommates – who apparently did not hear the killings take place – are involved in the crimes. They also do not believe a man observed in surveillance video outside a food truck visited by Goncalves and Mogen the night of the murders was involved, nor was a driver who drove the women home.

One week after the slayings, law enforcement provided more information about the killings and asked the public for “context to the events and people involved in these murders.”

“Anyone who observed notable behavior, has video surveillance, or can provide relevant information is asked to call the Tip Line,” police said in a press release.

Police are looking for any outside surveillance video taken between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. on November 13 – the morning of the murders – from local businesses and residences in the area. They’ve requested all video, even if there doesn’t appear to be any motion in them. Police are also asking for any tips or surveillance video about “any observed suspicious behavior” on the night of the murders, particularly in the areas where the students had been.

Goncalves and Mogen were in downtown Moscow prior to their murders, while Chapin and Kernodle were at the Sigma Chi fraternity house.

The police also clarified that the 911 call about an unconscious person was made from inside the residence on one of the surviving roommates’ cell phones. Several people spoke with the 911 dispatcher before a police officer arrived on the scene, and at this time, police do not believe anyone who was at the residence at the time the 911 call was made was involved in the crimes.