Police said that they have “an army of analysts” combing through tips received in the investigation into the murders of four University of Idaho students last month.
In a press release on Monday, the Moscow Police Department said it continues to investigate the brutal stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin inside their off-campus rental home on 13 November.
“We have literally an army of analysts sorting through videos that have been submitted to the FBI tip website,” Moscow Police Department Captain Roger Lanier said. “We’ve been trying to use those videos to garner new information. There is hours and hours of video.”
The remarks come on the same day of a Fox News Digital report that Kaylee Goncalves’ father Steve Goncalves had branded Moscow PD officers “cowards” over their handling of the homicide investigation, which entered its fifth week on Sunday with no named suspects.
“We do have a lot of information. We are specifically keeping that information safe,” Mr Lanier added. “We are not releasing details because 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.”
Mr Goncalves revealed to Fox that the victims had “big open gouges” caused by what he described as “a strong weapon”.
The grieving father said that the nature of the brutal stab wounds must be the work of a “sadistic male” as he slammed law enforcement for not releasing more information to the public given the mass murderer remains at large.
“They’re just being cowards. There are girls walking around the street right now that deserve to know. They should be looking out for a sadistic male,” he said.
Mr Goncalves’ comments come amid growing tensions between law enforcement and his family. He has repeatedly criticised police for remaining tight-lipped about the investigation and most recently accused officers assigned to the case of being “inexperienced” and making several mistakes in the early stages of the probe.
In what appeared to be the strongest lead to date, 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.
Police are urging the public to come forward with any information, revealing that it might just be the missing “piece of the puzzle”.
Moscow Police have been so inundated with tips about the vehicle that the calls are being directed to a national FBI tip line. As of Saturday, police said that they are still looking to speak to the occupants and the licence plate remains unknown.
