Idaho college murders – update: Police call logs show reports of ‘blood’ stains and ‘suspicious’ men in Moscow as suspect at large

The small college town of Moscow is preparing to hold a vigil on Wednesday in memory of the four victims murdered in a brutal knife attack on 13 November.

The University of Idaho will host the event at the Moscow campus at 5pm local time on 30 November followed by an event at the Boise campus at 6pm.

The university will “honor the memory of Ethan, Xana, Madison and Kaylee,” it says.

People will also be able to join the vigil remotely.

The vigil was originally slated to take place in the days after the murders but was postponed as the town emptied, with terrified students upping sticks and leaving as the killer or killers remain at large.

Several students returned to Moscow on Monday, after the Thanksgiving break.

The four students killed in the knife attack all died quickly, according to the grieving father of victim Kaylee Goncalves.

Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were killed around 3am or 4am on 13 November, police said.

Their bodies were left undiscovered for several hours, with police receiving a 911 call at 11.58am to report an “unconscious individual” at the home.

Steve Goncalves told ABC News that he learned that it would have made no difference if the victims were found earlier as his daughter and her three friends had died quickly and so would not have been saved.

“Nobody suffered and nobody felt like that kind of pain,” he said.

It could have been anyone, in any US college town, on any Saturday night. That’s how typical the murdered students’ behaviour was in Moscow, Idaho, just hours before they were brutally stabbed to death.

The University of Idaho campus had been busy that day, a sea of gold and silver as the Vandals prepared for a home game against the UC Davis Aggies in the 16,000-seat Kibbie Dome. It was 28 degrees at kickoff – the weather was listed as a daunting “ice fog” – but happy, loyal fans turned out; the Vandals’ 44-26 loss was disappointing but did not deter the students from preparing to hit the town.

Among them were five girls living in a three-bedroom rental home on King Road, just over a mile from the stadium and only two blocks from the edge of campus. Kaylee Goncalves and Maddie Mogen, both 21 and childhood best friends, were heading together to the bars downtown. Xana Kernodle, 20, was planning to hang out with her boyfriend, 20-year-old Ethan Chapin. The girls’ two other female roommates would spend the night out, also.

Reporting from on the ground in Moscow, Idaho, The Independent’s Sheila Flynn outlines the students’ final hours:

The father of one of the four University of Idaho students stabbed to death says his family will not give her a funeral for fear that the “monster” who murdered her might attend.

Kaylee Goncalves was killed at an off-campus house in the city of Moscow, Idaho, in the early hours of 13 November, with police still hunting for the murderer.

Her father, Steve Goncalves, says that the family has not been able to bring itself to have a commemoration for their daughter just yet.

“My wife’s biggest fear, part of the reason we didn’t have a funeral, is because she couldn’t be guaranteed that that monster was going to not be there,” he told ABC News.

He insisted that he still supports and trusts the law enforcement officers who are working the case, despite a lack of results so far and the killer still on the loose.

The Independent’s Graeme Massie has more:

Kaylee Goncalves’ father has said that he is trying to have faith in police investigating his daughter’s murder but cannot help being somewhat frustrated with the investigation so far.

Steve Goncalves told ABC News that he is feeling “a little defeated” and frustrated by the lack of information law enforcement are sharing with the family as the investigation rumbles into its third week.

“I have to assume and hope that this is all part of their plan and … they’ve got this all figured out,” he said.

“I know that there’s some really good, hard-working guys and girls that are on this case that I’ve met. And they looked me in the eyes and they told me straight-out that they’re working and they’re doing everything in their power.”

Knowing his daughter’s killer is still out there is the only feeling worse than the fact that she has died, he said.

“[The killer is] having a great life out there – and you’re just left in shambles,” he said.

“I have to have my justice. These families deserve that.

“We just have to come together as a community. Submit all those pieces of evidence … and get this guy off the streets.”

A “suspicious” man was spotted taking down tip posters around Moscow, according to a 911 call.

In one 911 call, the caller told police that they had seen a “suspicious” man walking around removing posters with information about a tip line last Tuesday.

It’s not clear exactly what tip line that was, but there is a good chance it was the Moscow Police Department’s tip line at 208-883-7180, which has been advertised in connection with this month’s murders.

The devastated father of victim Kaylee Goncalves has revealed the family’s fears that their daughter’s killer would show up at her funeral.

Steve Goncalves told ABC News that the family have so far declined to hold a funeral service for the 21-year-old as the killer or killers’ identity remains unknown.

“My wife’s biggest fear, part of the reason we didn’t have a funeral, is because she couldn’t be guaranteed that that monster was going to not be there,” he said.

Now, 16 days into the murder investigation, no suspects have been identified, no arrests made and the murder weapon has not been found.

A 911 call was made reporting a man with a knife just days after the four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death in their home while they slept.

The Independent’s analysis of police call logs revealed several chilling complaints had been made in the two weeks since the 13 November murders.

On 20 November – exactly one week on from the killings – a caller reported “a male on the side of the road carrying a knife in front of him, stretched out”.

Officers did not file a report about the incident.

Other 911 calls reported “suspicious” men being spotted in the areas.

A University of Idaho student has revealed that she saw one of the victims enjoying a “normal night” out just hours before she was brutally murdered in her rental home.

Madison Moye told Fox News Digital that Madison Mogen spent much of the night of 12 November at The Corner Club bar in downtown Moscow.

Ms Moye, a 21-year-old sophomore and fellow member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, said that she saw nothing out of the ordinary, with Mogen “laughing with all her friends” at the sports bar.

“It was just a normal night in Moscow,” said.

“Moscow is a safe place. Nothing like this ever happens … I didn’t think anything of it.”

Ms Moye lives in a home behind the murder house and said that she knew the victims and had visited their house to “hang out” with them. Mogen and Xana Kernodle were both members of Pi Beta Phi

The close proximity from her home to the crime scene left her wondering if the killer might have passed through her yard, she admitted.

“It’s definitely something that’s crossed my mind and that’s really terrifying,” she said.

Two weeks have now passed since four University of Idaho students were brutally stabbed to death in the small college town of Moscow – with no suspects identified, no arrests made and the murder weapon nowhere to be found.

Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were found murdered in the off-campus home that the three female students shared in the early hours of 13 November.

Despite multiple law enforcement agencies being drafted in to work on the case, police appear to be no closer to catching the killer, leaving students and residents of the notoriously safe town racked by fear and social media awash with speculation.

While officials are remaining tightlipped about key parts of the investigation including why they believe the murders were targeted, they have debunked several online rumours and ruled out potential ties to the killings.

This is what police have ruled out so far: