Investigators trying to track down the killer of four University of Idaho students have blamed internet sleuths for creating a “huge distraction” from the murder case, claiming the rampant online rumours make it hard for law enforcement to “stay on track”.
In a video update posted on Monday, Moscow Police Captain Roger Lanier hit out at “social media propagation” surrounding the brutal stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in the small college town of Moscow, Idaho.
“Tracking down rumours and quelling rumours about specific information and specific events that may not have happened is a huge distraction,” he said.
“It is very, very frustrating for investigators. It makes it hard to stay on track.”
Captain Lanier urged the public: “Please stick to official news releases.”
The finger-pointing from law enforcement comes as the unsolved murder case has been at the centre of a huge obsession on Reddit and other online channels.
More than four weeks have now passed since the four students were found butchered in their beds and police appear to be no closer to catching the killer.
No arrests have been made, no suspects have been identified and the murder weapon is nowhere to be found.
With investigators remaining tight-lipped about the details of the murders including who may have been the main target of the attack – and with no suspect in custody – speculation, rumours and conspiracy theories have ramped up online.
Officials have resorted to debunking several online rumours including one false claim that the four victims had been bound and gagged during the brutal attack.
Police have also ruled out a possible connection between the case and a series of other incidents including a 2021 stabbing in Oregon, the February overdose death of another student in Moscow and an “alcohol incident” on the night of the murders.
Speculation is now growing around a mystery item found at the crime scene in the days after the murders.
Retired homicide detective and podcaster Chris McDonough claimed that he found a single black glove outside the house on King Road on 28 November and that, after pointing it out to law enforcement, it appeared that police were not aware of it before then.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Mr McDonough showed the glove nestled among leaves in the snow outside the student rental home.
“I actually found a glove and turned it, I pointed it out to the officer who was there securing the scene and they came and they collected it,” he said.
“The officer that was there, obviously, they didn’t know about it because he came over and photographed it and he talked to the evidence, they had evidence tech, and immediately, you know, later they come out and got it.”
The discovery has raised questions around whether the glove may have been there on 13 November – the night of the killings – and who it may belong to.
“Is this from the night? Is it random i.e. somebody missed the trash can and they were walking by... Is the suspect taunting the authorities by you know placing something like this hypothetically?” asked Mr McDonough.
Authorities are still looking to speak to the driver of a mystery white car spotted near the crime scene at the time of the murders.
Moscow Police announced last Wednesday that they were looking to speak to the occupant or occupants of a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra which was seen near the King Road home in the early hours of 13 November.
“Investigators believe the occupant(s) of this vehicle may have critical information to share regarding this case,” police said in a statement.
Police are urging the public to come forward with any information, revealing that it might just be the missing “piece of the puzzle”.
Border agents along the US’s border with Canada have been notified to be on the lookout for the car and tips have been pouring in from the public ever since – so much so that the calls are now being directed to a national FBI tip line.
Captain Lanier said on Monday that police believe the occupant or occupants may have seen something crucial to the case without realising.
“We are looking for the car as we believe that that car was in the area at the time of the murders,” he said.
“And we believe the occupant or occupants may have seen something, they may not know that they have seen something.
“So we specifically want to talk to them and want to know who they are and what they might know and what they might be able to contribute to the investigation.”
He added that investigators do have more information about the murders than they are releasing but are keeping it under lock and key because they “want a conviction”.
“We do have a lot of information and we are specifically keeping that information safe,” he said.
“We are not releasing specific details as we do not want to compromise the investigation. We owe that to the families and we owe that to the victims. We want more than just an arrest. We want a conviction.”
Police believe the four victims were stabbed to death in their beds with a fixed-blade knife at around 3am or 4am on 13 November. There was no signs of sexual assault.
Two of the victims were found on the second floor and two on the third floor of the home.
On the night of 12 November, Kernodle and Chapin were at a sorority party at Sigma Chi house together from 8pm to 9pm and arrived back at the home at around 1.45am. It is unclear where they were in the five-hour time gap.
Goncalves and Mogen had spent the night at The Corner Club bar in downtown Moscow, before stopping by a food truck and then getting a ride home from an unnamed “private party” to arrive at the property at around 1.56am.
Two surviving roommates were also out that night and arrived home at around 1am, police said. The two women, who lived in rooms on the first floor of the home, are believed to have slept through the brutal killings and were unharmed.
The horrific crime scene went unnoticed for several more hours, with police receiving a 911 call at 11.58am on Sunday, reporting an “unconscious individual” at the home.
The two other roommates had first called friends to the home because they believed one of the second floor victims was unconscious and would not wake up. When the friends arrived, a 911 call was made from one of the roommates’ phones.
Police arrived on the scene to find the four victims dead from multiple stab wounds.
Several people have been ruled out as suspects: the two surviving housemates, the man who was caught on camera with Mogen and Goncalves at a food truck in the downtown area before they headed home on the night of the slayings, the person who gave Mogen and Goncalves a ride home from the food truck, Goncalves’ former long-term boyfriend and the friends who were in the home when the 911 call.
A sixth person listed on the lease of the student home and two men involved in a “stalker” incident with Goncalves around a month before the murders are also not believed to be connected to the case, police said.
