Nearly two weeks have passed since four University of Idaho students were found murdered in their off-campus residence, but the case remains the Moscow, Idaho, police department’s “highest priority.”
The Moscow Police Department and other law enforcement officials held a press conference Wednesday evening to update the public on the case but admitted that there is still no suspect and no murder weapon has been found. Still, authorities are combing through a mountain of evidence and tips.
“We collected 103 pieces of individual evidence. We took approximately 4,000 photographs. We’ve come and conducted multiple 3D scans of the residence,” Idaho State Patrol Col. Kedrick Wills said at the press conference, according to CNN.
Moscow Police Capt. Roger Lanier added that the department is putting “all of our resources into investigating these murders” and would work through the Thanksgiving holiday.
“This is our highest priority. It will remain our highest priority. We owe that to the family,” Moscow Police Chief James Fry said.
Police responded to a call around noon on November 13 reporting an unconscious person at an off-campus residence. When they arrived, they found four students murdered: Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Ethan Chapin, 20; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Madison Mogen, 21.
Police have also said they do not believe that the two surviving roommates – who apparently did not hear the killings take place – are involved in the crimes. They also do not believe a man observed in surveillance video outside a food truck visited by Goncalves and Mogen the night of the murders was involved, nor was a driver who drove the women home.
On Sunday, law enforcement provided more information about the killings and asked the public for “context to the events and people involved in these murders.”
“Anyone who observed notable behavior, has video surveillance, or can provide relevant information is asked to call the Tip Line,” police said in a press release.
Police are looking for any outside surveillance video taken between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. on November 13 – the morning of the murders – from local businesses and residences in the area. They’ve requested all video, even if there doesn’t appear to be any motion in them. Police are also asking for any tips or surveillance video about “any observed suspicious behavior” on the night of the murders, particularly in the areas where the students had been.
Goncalves and Mogen were in downtown Moscow prior to their murders, while Chapin and Kernodle were at the Sigma Chi fraternity house.
The police also clarified that the 911 call about an unconscious person was made from inside the residence on one of the surviving roommates’ cell phones. Several people spoke with the 911 dispatcher before a police officer arrived on the scene, and at this time, police do not believe anyone who was at the residence at the time the 911 call was made was involved in the crimes.