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() — More than two weeks have passed since the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students and there’s still no suspect. But the sister of one of the victims believes there’s been “progress” with the release of at least one detail.
Alivea Goncalves, whose sister Kaylee Goncalves was killed, said police made a “step in the right direction” by releasing a more detailed timeline of what happened in the early hours of Nov. 13. Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were all stabbed to death inside an off-campus rental house.
They were all close friends, as well as members of fraternities and sororities. Chapin was dating Kernodle, who was roommates with Mogen and Goncalves. Their bodies weren’t discovered until around noon Nov. 13, hours after they were killed.
In a news release Saturday, Moscow, Idaho, police said Kaylee Goncalves and Mogen arrived home from a night out at 1:56 a.m. Previous information listed the arrival time as around 1:45 a.m., and police said the time was updated based on “digital evidence collected by investigators.”
“I’ve been pushing that from the very beginning, and it was, I guess, a step in the right direction to see that was taken seriously,” Alivea Goncalves said Monday on “CUOMO.” “For us, it’s important that the families are being listened to.”
Moscow police have ruled out multiple people as suspects, including two surviving roommates who were home at the time of the killings; a man seen in surveillance video at a location where Goncalves and Mogen were before going home; a person who drove Goncalves and Mogen home; a man Goncalves and Mogen called multiple times in the early hours of Nov. 13; and an individual at the home when 911 was called.
“I can only trust law enforcement has done their due diligence in all of the people they’ve cleared thus far,” Alivea Goncalves said.
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Authorities say so far, they have sifted through 1,000 tips related to the deaths and have warned against speculation that has stoked community fears in the weeks since the deaths. One of those speculations was that Kaylee Goncalves’ ex-boyfriend might have been involved, which police have ruled out.
“I completely agree. I could not be any happier to see that they have cleared him,” Alivea Goncalves said. “From the beginning, I knew that it wasn’t him, and I’m happy they’re focusing their attention somewhere else now.”
Classes resumed Monday at the university, and ’s Brian Entin spoke to students on campus who said there are noticeably fewer people around following the Thanksgiving break. Despite an increased police presence, many are opting to do classes online instead of returning in-person and others said they are planning to stay inside after dark.
The killings have left the community on edge. Police have described the attack as “targeted” but also warned the community that a threat might remain.
“Law enforcement is kind of throwing around this word ‘targeted,’ but we don’t know that means, and it almost makes it feel alienating because we don’t have any more information on that,” Alivea Goncalves said. “I don’t know who that target was, if it was one of them, if it was all of them. I just don’t know.”
As the investigation continues, Goncalves said the family is doing their best to grieve and heal.
“We’re all doing the absolute best that we can. It’s hard as we creep into week three now, but Kaylee would be really proud,” Goncalves said. “We cooked Thanksgiving dinner; she was really excited for Thanksgiving dinner this year, so we did it for her and Maddie.”
