Latest on Idaho murders: College students’ autopsies released as surviving roommates may be ‘key’ to solving case

Jazzmin Kernodle told the Associated Press that her sister would light up every room she walked into.

“You rarely get to meet someone like Xana,” Ms Kernodle said. “She was so positive, funny and was loved by everyone who met her.”

Xana Kernodle went to high school in the city of Post Falls. She was majoring in marketing and was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.

Ethan Chapin and Xana were longtime friends and had started dating over the summer. He was also killed in the attack.

Chapin, one of four University of Idaho students stabbed to death last weekend, was a triplet.

His brother and sister also attend the University of Idaho. Before the murders, Ethan attended a dance hosted by his sister’s sorority.

“He was our daughter Maizie’s date, and his brother was Maizie’s roommate’s date,” Chapin’s mother, Stacy Chapin, told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

“They all spent their last day together, all dressed up, and had a great time. We’re all thankful that they spent that time together.”

“He could read any situation and make it better,” Ms Chapin added. “He was just so carefree.”

The four University of Idaho students murdered in a horror attack in an off-campus home suffered “multiple” stab wounds from a “large knife”, according to the local coroner – as she revealed that DNA samples have been collected from the crime scene.

Autopsy findings for Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were released on Thursday, officially ruling their deaths homicides by stabbing.

Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt confirmed that each victim was stabbed multiple times, describing their wounds as “pretty extensive” and revealing that they bled out inside their student home.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Goncalves was a senior majoring in general studies at the University of Idaho. She was one month shy of completing her degree.

Her family said that after college, she planned to travel to Europe.

“She had everything going for her, absolutely everything,” her sister, Alivea Goncalves told NBC’s TODAY show. “She had her job lined up. She had worked really hard for it.”

Officials in the small town of Moscow, Idaho, have been a little cryptic about what happened to four University of Idaho students who were murdered last weekend.

So far, neither the suspect nor the murder weapon have been traced and the police have cautioned the small town of 25,000 people to remain vigilant.

So what exactly happened in the hours before and after the students’ bodies were discovered?

Here’s the best timeline we currently have.

Family members of the victims hit out at law enforcement over their response.

“No one is in custody therefore no one is safe,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “If you have friends, family or loved ones in Moscow our family encourages you to get them home,” she added.

Scott Jutte, the general manager of Moscow Building Supply, revealed that officers have turned up multiple times searching for Ka-Bar knives.

The combat knives typically have a six-inch-long blade with a smooth edge on one side and a serrated edge on the other. They became popular with the US military after first being adopted by the US Marines during the Second World War.

While Ka-Bar is actually the name for the brand Ka-Bar Knives Inc, the name is now used to describe any knife of a similar blade pattern.

Mr Jutte described the blades as being “similar to the knife Rambo has” – referring to the Sylvester Stallone character.

“They were specifically asking whether or not we carry Ka-Bar-style knives, which we do not,” he said of the officers.

Family members of the victims have hit out at law enforcement over their handling of what information is released to the public.

Chapin’s father Jim Chapin urged the local police to release further information about the killings.

“There is a lack of information from the University of Idaho and the local police, which only fuels false rumors and innuendo in the press and social media,” Mr Chapin said.

“The silence further compounds our family’s agony after our son’s murder. For Ethan and his three dear friends slain in Moscow, Idaho, and all of our families, I urge officials to speak the truth, share what they know, find the assailant, and protect the greater community.”

Jeff Kernodle, the father of slain University of Idaho student Xana Kernodle, said his daughter had “bruises” on her body which indicates that she put up a fight against the killer.

“Bruises, torn by the knife,” Mr Kernodle told CBS 5.

“She’s a tough kid. Whatever she wanted to do, she could do it.”

In the early hours of Sunday morning, Maddison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were seen stopping by a local food truck for a late-night bit to eat.

Twitch footage, seen by The Independent, captured the two best friends arriving at the food truck at around 1.41am.

An unidentified man appears to be walking with them, before he steps back as they approach the truck.

Mogen and Goncalves go up to the truck and order food, while the man stands a few feet behind them – before pulling his hood over his head.

Over the next 10 minutes, the group of young people and students are seen laughing and chatting away as they wait for their orders.

The man is seen chatting and laughing to another man in the line, while Mogen and Goncalves appear to laugh and joke with each other and take photos.

When their food is ready, Mogen and Goncalves leave together, walking away from the truck and turning left.

The Independent’s Io Dodds and Rachel Sharp have the story: