The grieving father of slain University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves has said that he “has to” believe that his daughter’s killer will be caught.
Steve Goncalves spoke to CNN about his determination to keep faith in the investigation as more than five weeks have passed since the 13 November murders with no arrests made and no suspects identified.
When asked if he believes that police will find his daughter’s killer, he responded: “Yes, I have to, I have to. I couldn’t sleep if I thought…”
He added that the family is “trying to do everything to help and we’re trying to collaborate with” law enforcement as – with the case dragging on – relations have become increasingly fraught.
Mr Goncalves said that he was glad that police are now calling on the public for help in tracking down the mystery car which was spotted at the crime scene around the time when Gonclaves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were stabbed to death in their beds.
For the last two weeks, investigators have been searching for the occupant or occupants of a white Hyundai Elantra, model 2011 to 2013, seen in the “immediate area” of the home on King Road in the early hours of 13 November.
Investigators believe that the individual or individuals in the car – whose licence plate is unknown – may have “critical information to share regarding this case”.
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.
So far, police have identified around 22,000 vehicles that fit the description of the vehicle and are combing through the information for clues. Hopes that the vehicle had finally been located were dashed on Tuesday when investigators ruled out a damaged car found abandoned 500 miles away in Oregon.
On Tuesday, police confirmed that they were looking into a vehicle matching the description of the mystery car in Eugene, before announcing hours later that the vehicle was not connected to the unsolved killings.
Mr Goncalves told CNN that he doesn’t believe the mystery vehicle is still in Moscow as he said he was pleased the community was on the lookout for it.
“I’m glad that they’re reaching out and they’re asking for the community to look for this car,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s in this town anymore so they can only work in that county. So sometimes you’ve got to reach out.”
Mr Goncalves’ attorney Shanon Gray added that he thinks the community will solve the murder case and the more information law enforcement share with the public the greater the chances that the killer will be caught.
“I think Steve and I and the family think the community is going to solve the crime,” he said.
“And I think the more they ask the community to help and reach out to them, then the better the investigation will move forward.”
He added: “That’s why some of our questions in the past have been about not reaching out soon enough.
“So moving forward they’ll be able to get the resources they need and move forward and solve this crime.”
Investigators working to track down the killer have kept several details about the case under wraps – including why the murders are believed to be targeted.
It’s a move that has fuelled tensions between law enforcement and the Goncalves’ family, with the 21-year-old’s grieving parents repeatedly questioning the abilities of investigators on the case and hitting out at what they say is a lack of communication.
Moscow Police Chief James Fry has defended his department in the face of such criticism, denying that the victims’ families are being “left in the dark”.
The police chief told NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt that officers are in communication with the four families “daily” as he urged them to “trust us”.
“Every family wants a little bit different information, and we have a liaison with each of the families, that we talked to them daily,” he said.
“We pass on as much information as we can to them. As I stated, there’s information that we’ve held back, and we know that frustrates them.
“But we asked them to be patient. We asked them to trust us and that we’re going to continue to move through this until we have a completion in the case.”
While the Goncalves’ family has raised concerns, the Chapin family told NBC they are “beyond grateful” for the communications they are receiving from law enforcement, saying that “there is an ongoing and open line of communication so we remain knowledgeable about any new happening before the public”.
To date, dozens of law enforcement officials from multiple agencies have been assigned to the case but are yet to track down the assailant who stabbed the four victims to death in their beds.
Police said the victims were attacked with a fixed-blade knife at around 3am or 4am on 13 November. There was no sign of sexual assault.
Two of the victims were found on the second floor of the home and two on the third floor.
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 arrived back 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.
