The father of one of four University of Idaho students killed last month has criticised the rampant misinformation circulating online about the unsolved murders.
Sunday marked the six-week anniversary of the brutal stabbings of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin on 13 November. Moscow police have not named any suspects or made arrests in the criminal investigation.
Mogen’s father, Ben Mogen, told the Spokesman-Review that he still has many questions about his daughter’s murder, but noted that authorities have worked tirelessly to keep his family informed about developments in the probe.
Mr Mogen went on to decry the overwhelming amount of conspiracies and debunked theories that continue to circulate on the internet despite authorities’ attempts to make accurate information available whilst keeping the integrity of the case.
“It’s hard for me to read all of these articles,” Mr Mogen told the Review. “I can get all my news about it right from there [authorities], and I don’t have to try and drudge through all this misinformation.”
Mr Mogen said he remains optimistic that investigators will eventually solve the crime.
“From the very beginning, I’ve known that people don’t get away with these things these days,” he told the Review.
“There’s too many things that you can get caught up on, like DNA and videos everywhere. This isn’t something that people get away with, that goes unsolved.”
He said investigators have kept him informed of updates and that he receives a call every day. When he misses one, authorities check in with his family to make sure he is doing okay.
The grieving father also recounted the moment he found out about his daughter’s death. Mr Mogen was at the movie theatre when he got a call from Madison’s mother urging him to go to her house.
“We didn’t even know what to say to each other, we just both were sobbing,” he told the Review. “We just cried together on the phone, I guess. There’s just no words for any of that.”
Mr Mogen remembered Madison as a smart and funny young woman, who was loved by everyone she met.
“I am so proud to be able to say that she was my daughter and what she was doing with her life and where she was headed,” Mr Mogen told the Review. “She was living the life that she deserved.”
Investigators in Moscow are still on the hunt for the occupant or occupants of a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra seen “in the immediate area” of the crime scene in the early hours of 13 November.
Police have identified around 22,000 vehicles that fit the description of the car and are combing through the information for clues.
