The coroner in charge of the University of Idaho student murders case has come under fire for allegedly relaying horror victims about the killings to victim Kaylee Goncalves’ teenage sister.
Kaylee’s mother Kristi Goncalves shared her anguish over the case in an interview with the Today Show on Thursday, more than a month after her daughter was stabbed to death alongside friends Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November.
Ms Goncalves revealed that some of the most gruesome details the family knows about the case came from a conversation between her younger daughter, who is 17, and Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt.
Earlier this week, Kaylee’s father Steve Goncalves described how the coroner had told the family that the victims suffered “big open gouges”.
Ms Mabbutt had given that description to Kaylee’s little sister over the phone, Ms Goncalves said.
“[Ms Mabbutt] asked her: ‘Are you sure you want to know this?’ And my daughter, thinking that she did, for whatever reason, said ‘Yes,’” Ms Goncalves said. “And she proceeded to tell her.”
Describing the conversation with Ms Mabbutt to Fox News earlier this week, Mr Goncalves said the coroner told the family: “I don’t think stabs is the right word, it was like tears, like this was a strong weapon, not like a stab.”
“She said it was quick. These weren’t something where you were going to be able to call 911. They were not going to slowly bleed out,” he added.
Mr Goncalves told Fox that Ms Mabbutt “embellished a bunch of stuff, like her own hypotheses of what happened and her theory of things.”
Ms Mabbutt’s media appearances revealing sensitive information — in stark contrast to Moscow Police Department’s pleas for the public to understand that specifics about the investigation are being withheld to protect its integrity — have been at the centre of criticism.
In the early stages of the investigation, the coroner called the murders “personal,” and revealed that the victims were found in their beds and were likely sleeping when they were attacked.
“It was not only surprising but aggravating,” Joseph Giacalone, a 20-year police veteran and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told Fox News weeks ago. “It is not her place to investigate this thing on TV and speculate.”
Nearly five weeks after the murders, the perpetrator of the brutal crime remains at large, with the Goncalves family raising fears that the crime could go unsolved.
Amid growing criticism from the victims’ families and the public that not enough information is being shared about the case, Moscow Police have reiterated their commitment to maintaining the integrity of the investigation and only releasing details that do not hinder the probe.
Moscow Police Captain Roger Lanier said that police “do have a lot of information” that they’re choosing not to release to the public.
“We’re not releasing specific details because we do not want to compromise this investigation,” he said in a video statement. “We owe that to the families and we owe that to the victims. We want more than just an arrest – we want a conviction.”
The department said in a press release on Thursday that investigators are sorting through 22,000 registered 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantras that fit into the search criteria of a car seen near the murder home on 1122 King Road the night of the killings.
Authorities have asked anyone with information to submit tips at fbi.gov/moscowidaho or tipline@ci.moscow.id.us.
