CNN –
With a killer still on the loose, residents of a small college community in Idaho are being warned to stay alert as authorities try to figure out how four students were brutally stabbed to death in a home while two roommates were left unharmed. injured and a door was left. wide open
“We don’t have any suspects at this time, and this person is still out there,” Moscow Police Chief James Fry said Wednesday.
A gun and a motive for the killing have also eluded local police who are working with the FBI and state police to hunt down a suspect in the city of 25,000, which has not had a homicide since 2015, according to police data state
“We can’t say there’s no threat to the community,” Fry said during a news conference Wednesday. “And as we said, please be vigilant, report any suspicious activity and be aware of your surroundings at all times.”
Police had previously said there was no threat to the community.
The new details of the investigation came days after four University of Idaho students — Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves — were found dead Sunday afternoon at a bloody crime scene, shattering the sense of security in the community near Washington. border
“We are reviewing the video that has been collected, but we are asking the public to contact us with any information you may have that will assist in this investigation,” Fry said, acknowledging that the crime has “affected us all , families, the University of Idaho, our community, our country and our officers.”
Classes at the University of Idaho have resumed since being canceled Monday, university President Scott Green said.
“Some of our students still want to go to class,” he said Wednesday. “They gain comfort around other students. They get comfort by interacting and staying busy with their faculty and attending classes, labs, some are working on their semester projects, so we’ve heard from them.”
The school is “encouraging students and employees to take care” as they head into the Thanksgiving break, Green said.
The school “has continuously pressed for as much information as possible, knowing that we cannot interfere with the important work of a good investigation,” Green said in a statement Wednesday.
“We just want justice for these victims,” he said.
As the investigation continues, police have begun to put together a timeline of what happened in the hours leading up to the murders.
Chapin and Kernodle were at a party on campus Saturday night, while Mogen and Goncalves were at a bar downtown before they all returned home early Sunday, sometime after 1:45 a.m., Fry said .
Mogen and Goncalves were spotted ordering from a food truck in Moscow that night, according to a Grub Truckers live Twitch stream. The couple approached the truck around 1:41 a.m., placed an order for food, and are seen chatting with each other and others while waiting for their order.
The two students did not appear to be in danger or danger, said Joseph Woodall, 26, who operates the truck.
All four victims died early Sunday morning, Fry said, but no 911 calls were made until noon. All four victims were stabbed with a knife, he said.
The chief did not disclose who called 911.
Two additional roommates were home at the time of the death, none of whom were injured or held hostage, Green said.
“We’re not just focused on them, we’re focused on everyone who can come in and out of this residence,” he said.
The two roommates have cooperated fully with law enforcement, Idaho State Police spokesman Aaron Snell told CNN on Wednesday.
After the 911 call came in about an unconscious person, officers found the door to the house open and a gruesome crime scene.
There was no evidence of forced entry, Fry said. “We’re not 100 percent sure the door is unlocked, there was no damage to anything and the door was still open when we got there,” Fry said.
There was “some blood in the apartment,” Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt told CNN affiliate KXLY on Tuesday.
“It was quite a traumatic scene to find four university students dead in a residence hall,” he said.
Autopsies could provide more information about what happened, Mabbutt said.
“There could be some, you know, some evidence of the suspect that we get during the autopsies that would be helpful,” Mabbutt said.
A few hours before her death, Goncalves had posted a photo of the room with the caption “a lucky girl to be surrounded by these people every day”, adding a heart emoji.
The 21-year-old from Rathdrum, Idaho, was a general studies major and a member of Alpha Phi fraternity.
His older sister, Alivea Goncalves, sent a statement to the Idaho Statesman on behalf of her family and Mogen.
“They were smart, they were watchful, they were cautious, and all of that was still happening,” he said. “No one is in custody and that means no one is safe. Yes, we are all heartbroken. Yes, we all understand each other. But stronger than any of those feelings is anger. We are angry. You should be angry.”
Mogen, 21, was from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and majored in marketing. He was a member of Pi Beta Phi fraternity.
Chapin, 20, was one of triplets, all enrolled at the University of Idaho, his family said in a statement. He was a freshman from Conway, Washington, majoring in recreation, sport and tourism management. He was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity.
“Ethan lit up every room he walked into and was a kind, loyal and loving son, brother, cousin and friend,” said his mother, Stacy Chapin. “Words cannot express the pain and devastation our family is experiencing. It breaks my heart to know that we will never be able to hug or laugh with Ethan again, but it is also unbearable to think of the horrific way in which he has been taken from us taken”.
Kernodle, 20, was from Avondale, Arizona. He majored in marketing and was a member of Pi Beta Phi fraternity.
She was “positive, funny and loved by all who knew her,” said her older sister, Jazzmin Kernodle.
“He was so cheerful and always lifted up a room,” Jazzmin Kernodle said. “She made me such a proud big sister and I wish I had spent more time with her. She had a lot of life left to live. My family and I are speechless, confused and anxiously awaiting updates on the investigation.”
He also offered his condolences to the other victims and their families. “My sister was lucky to have them in her life.”