Idaho murders latest news: Moscow police chief gives update on release of 911 call in college student killings

Moscow Police Chief James Fry has sparked new speculation about the release of the 911 call that led to the discovery of the four bodies of the University of Idaho victims.

Authorities have been on the call for more than six weeks since Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were found stabbed to death in their beds on Nov. 13.

The call about an “unconscious individual” came hours after the victims were believed to have been killed and came from a roommate’s phone. The identity of the caller has not yet been released.

Mr. Fry was pressed when the call would be published in a rare interview with KREM-TV this week.

“I think he will be released when the prosecution believes we can let him go,” he said.

“That may be at the trial. That may be before.”

When asked if the call could help investigators make an arrest, Mr. Fry declined to give a firm answer.

“I can’t discuss that. It’s part of the investigation, but as soon as we can release that information, we will,” he said.

The families of the four victims and residents of the small college town live in hope that the murders will be solved soon.

But there may be one detail about the Moscow Police Department that worries those seeking justice in the Idaho murders. Police there tend to do much worse than their counterparts across the state in solving crimes.

Until the student killings, there hadn’t been a homicide in Moscow since 2015, so it’s difficult to compare the department’s homicide record with other agencies in the state and the country.

However, overall, Moscow police only cleared about a quarter of “Group A” crimes between 2016 and 2021, according to That of the Independent analysis of the state’s data, a broad category that includes everything from murder to robbery. The state average during that same period was a clearance rate of over 50 percent.

Kristi Goncalves, whose 21-year-old daughter, Kaylee Goncalves, was stabbed to death in her off-campus rental home in Moscow on Nov. 13, appeared on the Today Show on Thursday and talked about her family going ” stay in the dark” like her. the daughter’s killer remains at large.

Asked if she thought the case could go unsolved, Ms Goncalves said: “I mean, in all honesty, that’s a possibility. There are a lot of unsolved murders.

“It’s sleepless nights. He’s sick to his stomach. He’s being left in the dark.”

In an interview with CBS affiliate KREM 2 News, Moscow Police Department Lt. James Fry said his investigators are still awaiting crime lab results from evidence collected at the scene of the quadruple murder .

“We don’t want to rush it, we want to make sure they take their time to get it right,” said Mr. Fry Tuesday.

He added: “Real life and movies are very different. You know, in movies they have everything [the results] back in an hour.”

“We don’t get it in real life, so we’ll be patient.”

Fry said he could not say whether DNA had been found at the scene.

Cole Altenede lived in the six-bedroom off-campus house on King Road, Moscow, during his first year, before graduating from university in 2022.

said Mr. Altenede ABC news that he could usually hear every movement inside the house when he lived there.

“It’s definitely a creaky old house,” he said, adding that each floor had two bedrooms and one bathroom.

The IndependentRachel Sharp has the story:

The 911 call was made at 11:58 a.m. on Nov. 13 and originated from the phone of one of the two roommates who survived the attack.

A dispatcher was told there was “an unconscious individual.”

“Surviving roommates summoned friends to the residence because they believed one of the victims on the second floor had passed out and was not waking up,” a Moscow PD statement said.

“Several people spoke to the 911 dispatcher before a Moscow police officer arrived on the scene. Officers entered the residence and found the four victims on the second and third floors.”

Police have declined to release who made the 911 call and will not release the audio.

When pressed The Independent As to why the call could not be released, the department said, “The contents are exempt from public release because the records are active investigative records that, if released, would interfere with enforcement proceedings…” .

It’s unclear what the roommates and “other friends” discussed on the call and what led them to describe one victim as simply “unconscious.”

It’s also unclear what roommates and friends saw inside the home before calling 911.

In a statement to The IndependentXana Kernodle’s family said they have decided to start a memorial endowment in partnership with the University of Idaho to keep her legacy alive.

“We are asking anyone who is willing and able to donate any amount they are comfortable with. Please keep in mind that no donation is too small,” the family said. “We sincerely thank you in advance from the bottom of our hearts.

“At the very least, we hope to create some good out of such a terrible and heartbreaking situation.”

In an interview with CBS affiliate KREM 2 News, Moscow Police Department Lt. James Fry said his investigators are still awaiting crime lab results from evidence collected at the scene of the quadruple murder .

“We don’t want to rush it, we want to make sure they take their time to get it right,” said Mr. Fry Tuesday.

He added: “Real life and movies are very different. You know, in movies they have everything [the results] back in an hour.”

“We don’t get it in real life, so we’ll be patient.”

Fry said he could not say whether DNA had been found at the scene.

No murder weapon has been found and police have not identified a suspect.

The Goncalves family previously shared their frustration with what they described as a lack of communication between Moscow police and the families of the victims, claiming they learned of developments in the investigation through statements from press and not directly from the force.

“We want to let them know that we held them accountable for their decisions,” she told attorney Shannon Gray, who was hired by the Goncalves to act as a liaison between the family and the police department. Today show last week.

“I’m not sure they’re capable of handling a quadruple murder… And if they’re in over their heads, then admit it and entrust the investigation to someone more versed in handling this type of matter.”

Investigators have admitted they are baffled by the killings in the notoriously safe small college town and still have no suspects or persons of interest on their radar.

For weeks, officials have released little new information about the case — this silence and absence of information only serving to fuel a barrage of online rumors and conspiracy theories among Internet sleuths.

While police won’t say what they know, they have resorted to debunking some of these theories online that they know are wrong.

But with each piece of information revealed or theory debunked, dozens more questions arise about the case.

Here, The Independent takes a deep dive into the mountain of unsolved questions and the scant details we know.