University of Idaho Mourns Quadruple Homicide

Four college students, Kaylee Goncalves (21), Madison Mogen (21), Xana Kernodle (20), and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin (20), are found dead after being stabbed to death in the early hours of November 13, 2022, in the girls’ off campus house. According to reports, police received a report of an unconscious person around 11:58 a.m. on Sunday, November 13. This is when the responders found the four University of Idaho students dead on the second and third floors of the home. The victims were assumed to be sleeping at the time of the attack as there were only a few defensive wounds.

The motive of the killings is still unknown. Chief Fry reveals to ABC News that police “believe this is a targeted attack,” though he would not say why he feels this way. Later, they hear from Brad Garrett, former FBI agent and ABC News contributor.  “I don’t think they [law enforcement] really know. I think they have theories, and maybe they’re good theories about what happened. … It certainly feels like, without knowing of course, that they don’t know what they have,” he explains. It was initially believed by Moscow police, that there was “no imminent threat to the community,” but that soon changed. Garrett’s best guess assumes the attacker “really wanted to kill all four of them — motive unknown and relationship to the victims unknown.” Although the motive is unknown, Garrett explained to ABC News that it is believed that the killer “likes to do these type of things and maybe has done it before.” This he why he believes it is unlikely to be a young suspect, since someone in their late teens or early 20’s is less likely to “methodically think through” four murders.

Fox News later spoke to the father of Kaylee Goncalves, revealing that he has an “inkling” about the four students’ behaviors. “I do have some inkling that there was some behavior difference. … When you commit a crime, you [have] different behaviors,” Steven Goncalves said, which he later addressed he was referring to the victims. Goncalves had previously told ABC News that he thought his daughter may have had a stalker. He also gave possible passwords for Kaylee’s socials, since the family shares some passwords. MPD states in a press release, investigators “have pursued hundreds of pieces of information related to this topic but have not verified or identified a stalker,” Goncalves is determined to get justice for his daughter. “I want him to be scared,” Goncalves says speaking about the potential suspect.

Families of suspects are determined to find the suspect of the slayings. They are discouraged by law enforcement from hiring a private investigator, as it may interfere with their focus on the case. According to Fox News, a few potential suspects have been cleared, although this does not mean they can’t be called back in for investigation after looking at forensics. Victims’ parents are beginning to get frustrated, as they are three weeks into the investigation and still there is no suspect. “I can’t just lay in my bed and do nothing,” Goncalves said. “That’s not the way I raised my family. That’s not the way I raised my girls and my son. You don’t be a victim. You stand up for yourself and you do everything in your power to make sure people hear you. They’re going to hear Kaylee. They’re going to hear Maddie,” states Steve Goncalves.