Newsman: Four University of Idaho students who were found dead in a rental house near campus were stabbed to death in their beds and likely were asleep when they were attacked, according to county coroner Cathy Mabbutt.
All four victims were members of fraternities and sororities: seniors Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho; junior Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington. The women were roommates. The bodies were found around noon Sunday.
Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt told cable news channel NewsNation on Thursday that each victim suffered multiple stab wounds from a “pretty large knife.”
“It has to be somebody pretty angry in order to stab four people to death,” Mabbutt told NewsNation. The victims were stabbed in the chest and upper body, the coroner said.
Comments from Mabbutt and the police expanded on autopsy reports released Thursday, which concluded the four students were murdered by being stabbed to death. Police additionally said there were no signs of sexual assault. Officers have not identified a suspect or found a weapon.
Two other female roommates were found unharmed in the house, authorities said. Moscow Police Chief Fry declined to say Wednesday if they were able to provide an account of the killings, say who called 911.
Police have said evidence at the scene leads them to believe the students were targeted, though they haven’t given details. Investigators say nothing appears to have been stolen from the victims or the home. Police also said online reports of the victims being tied and gagged are not accurate.
Detectives seized the contents of three dumpsters on the same road as the residence for possible evidence, police said. They have also been contacted local businesses to determine if a fixed-blade knife was recently purchased.
After initially saying there was no ongoing danger, police reversed themselves Wednesday. “We cannot say that there is no threat to the community,” Moscow Police Chief James Fry said. “We still believe it’s a targeted attack. But the reality is there still is a person out there who committed four very horrible, horrible crimes.”
The two other people found unharmed in the sprawling house, described by police Friday as roommates, are not believed to be involved in the case, the statement said.
Fry has declined to say whether the roommates were able to provide an account of the killings or to specify who called 911. There was no sign of forced entry, according to the chief, and a door was found open by the first police officers to arrive.
Detectives are investigating nearly 500 tips and have done 38 interviews with people who may have information about the murders, police said. The Idaho State Police, the FBI and the Latah County Sheriff’s Office are assisting with the investigation.
The crime has shaken an Idaho Panhandle town of MOSCOW (Idaho-Washington State border) a city about 25,000 of residents. The leafy college town is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Spokane, Washington.
