Police: 4 University of Idaho students found dead on campus 00:22

Investigators believe a knife was used in the deaths of four University of Idaho students, police said Tuesday. Officials said all four students, who were found dead inside a home near campus on Sunday, are considered victims in the case. No weapons have been located so far, police said, but based on preliminary information, “investigators believe a cutting weapon, such as a knife, was used,” Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dallinger said in a statement. There are no suspects in custody.
Autopsies scheduled to be completed later this week could provide more information on the exact cause of death. Police discovered the bodies of the students just before noon Sunday when they responded to a report of an unconscious person at a home just steps away from the Moscow, Idaho, campus. The victims have been identified as Ethan Chapin, a 20-year-old from Conway, Washington. Madison Mogen, a 21-year-old from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Arizona; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho. The Moscow Police Department has classified the deaths as “homicide” but maintains there is no active danger to the community. The university said Chapin was a freshman and member of Sigma Chi fraternity, and Kernodle was a junior majoring in marketing and a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. Mogen was also a senior majoring in marketing and a member of Pi Beta Phi, and Goncalves was a senior majoring in general studies and a member of Alpha Phi fraternity, the university said. The university also had a different hometown for Chapin and Kernodle than the cities listed in the Moscow Police Department release: The school said Chapin was from Mount Vernon, Washington, and Kernodle was from Post Falls, Idaho. Mogen and Kernodle worked at Mad Greek, a family restaurant a little more than a mile from the home where the students were found, the foundation said on Facebook. The owners wrote a heartfelt tribute to the two students. It is with a broken heart and deep sadness that we share with you that we have lost two of our own here at Mad Greek. Xana… Posted by Mad Greek on Monday, November 14, 2022 “Xana and Maddie have been servers here for several years and have brought so much joy to our restaurant and to everyone they meet,” the restaurant wrote, noting that Mogen had also managed much of the social media. “… You will be greatly missed. Thank you for being part of our family/team and helping me so much over the years. Until we meet again.” The Goncalves family released an emotional statement about the loss of their daughter and sister, according to CBS affiliate KREM-TV. “Kaylee was, is and always will be our defender and protector,” the family wrote in part. “… She did absolutely everything she set her mind to. She didn’t hold back in love, fights or life.” In the statement, the family also asked people to “refrain from spreading harmful rumours” about the deaths of the four students. University of Idaho President Scott Green said all the students were “killed” under tragic circumstances, and Moscow Mayor Art Bettge said all four students were considered victims in the investigation. Moscow Police Capt. Anthony Dallinger told the Idaho Statesman Monday night that none of the dead students are believed to be responsible for the deaths. The students likely died between 3 and 4 a.m. but were not discovered for hours, Bettge said. “The police got there at noon, nothing happened in between and nothing afterwards, so it seemed to be a one-off event that wasn’t fit to be repeated,” Bettge said. That timeline helped authorities determine there was no active risk, he said. Dahlinger declined to confirm or deny Bettge’s account of the timeline. The university canceled classes Monday and said additional security personnel were available to walk students around campus if needed during the rest of the week. But the lack of information about the cause of the deaths — and the fact that police said no one is in custody — had many parents worried about campus safety and some students who left early for Thanksgiving break. In a memo released Monday afternoon, University of Idaho President Scott Green urged university officials to be compassionate and flexible and work with students who decide to drop classes to spend time with families. their. “Words cannot adequately describe the light these students brought into this world or ease the depth of pain we feel when they died under these tragic circumstances,” Green wrote of the slain students. Police said anyone with information should contact the department at 208-883-7054 and asked the public to respect the privacy of the victims’ family and friends.
Brian Nickerson, the fire chief of the Moscow Volunteer Fire and EMS Department, said police were the first to arrive at the home. First responders from the fire and EMS department did not enter or transport anyone from the scene, Nickerson said. Moscow City is a tight-knit college town nestled in the rolling hills of north-central Idaho, about 80 miles southeast of Spokane, Washington. A vigil for the slain students that had been set for this week has been postponed until after school’s fall break next week, University of Idaho spokesman Kyle Pfannenstiel told CBS News on Tuesday. Shortly after Moscow police announced a homicide investigation, students at the University of Virginia were also told to evacuate after police said a suspect shot fellow students on a bus as they returned from a field trip. The shooting killed three members of the school’s football team and wounded two other students. The shooting sparked an intense manhunt Sunday, and authorities announced Monday that a suspect, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., had been arrested.