BOISE, Idaho — Moscow police reported receiving about 10,000 total tips and leads that are currently under review as part of their ongoing investigation into the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students more than five weeks ago.
Despite the end-of-year holidays, the local Police Department, assisted by Idaho State Police and the FBI, will not change its approach to the investigation or its pace toward seeking the case’s resolution, Moscow police Chief James Fry said Monday in a video update. The tips submitted by the public include emails, phone calls and digital videos.
“We have a special team of individuals who are skilled at watching videos, collecting evidence and information out of those videos and linking them together,” Fry said. “They’re looking for any keys that tie together any specific investigative pieces that we need to solve this case.”
Police still don’t have a suspect and haven’t found a weapon, which is thought to be a large fixed-blade knife. Law enforcement officials maintain that the deadly incident was a “targeted attack.”
New video footage related to the victims has begun to surface online, as national interest in the case continues to show no sign of letting up. The quadruple homicide occurred at a rental home just off campus in the early morning hours of Nov. 13. The victims were University of Idaho seniors Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum; junior Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls; and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington.
Moscow police so far have chosen not to release those videos, citing a need to protect the integrity of their investigation.
“As our individuals are sorting through that, all that information could be one key piece for this investigation,” Fry said.
Police are still seeking the public’s help in identifying a white 2011-13 Hyundai Elantra that they know was in the area of the home in the 1100 block of King Road at the time of the homicides. The department has a list of about 22,000 registered Hyundais that fit the criteria and that investigators are sorting through, Moscow Police Capt. Roger Lanier said last week.
“What we’re asking is that anybody else who still hasn’t sent in a tip, if you own one, or if you know somebody who was driving one the day before or the day after, to please send that tip in,” Fry added Monday.
The number of law enforcement officers on the case increased back up to more than 100, with the addition of 14 more FBI investigators, police said Monday. Those federal agents are based in Moscow, as well as around the country, including in Virginia and Salt Lake City, police have said.
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