This article was published at the beginning of December 2022
“How lucky to be surrounded by these people every day,” Kaylee Goncalves wrote on social media Saturday.
In her Instagram post, the 21-year-old University of Idaho student shared photos of her group of friends, cuddling up, smiling carefreely for the camera, having fun as is typical of college life.
Just hours later, four of the grinning students were dead, stabbed to death in mysterious quadruple homicide that rocked the small university town of Moscow and left many questions unanswered.
The bodies of Ethan Chapin (20), Madison Mogen (21), Xana Kernodle (20) and Goncalves (21) were found inside a house near the university campus around noon on Sunday (November 13).
Local officials later declared the incident a homicide and a “crime of passion,” but have made no arrests.
They’ve ruled out a murder-suicide, but haven’t revealed who made the baffling 911 call that led to the gruesome discovery of the bodies.
As authorities insist there is no ongoing threat to the community despite not publicly identifying any suspects or motives, here’s what we know about the case:
Mystery call to 911
The unresolved tragedy came to light around noon on Sunday when police responded to a report at a house on King Road, Moscow, for an unconscious person.
Moscow police officers arrived at the scene and found the four victims. student dead on the property.
It’s unclear who made the 911 call or if they were on the scene when officers arrived at the home. Investigators have also not disclosed whether the person has been ruled out as a possible suspect.
Immediately after the discovery, a homicide investigation was launched and the university campus was sealed off.
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Madison Mogen, left, and Kaylee Goncalves are among four victims in a University of Idaho homicide
(Kaylee Goncalves/Instagram)
The University of Idaho issued an alert to students to stay away from the area and shelter in place.
“Moscow police are investigating a homicide on King Rd., near campus. Suspect unknown at this time,” the university tweeted Sunday afternoon.
“Stay away from the area and take shelter where you are. More information will be made available when possible.”
Just an hour later, the shelter-in-place order was lifted and authorities said there was “no ongoing threat” to the public.
However, the students were told to remain “alert” for the “unknown” suspect and that he was still at large at the time.
“crime of passion”
On Tuesday, police reported that the four victims are believed to have been stabbed to death with “a weapon sharp as a knife.”
An official cause of death will be confirmed when autopsies are completed later in the week.
Police described the killings as “an isolated and intentional attack” and continued to insist that “there is no imminent threat to the wider community.”
It’s unclear what evidence prompted the researchers to reach that conclusion.
Two days after the murders, the murder weapon has not been recovered, no arrests have been made, and no suspects have been named.
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Ethan Chapin, left, and Xana Kernodle, are among four University of Idaho students killed Sunday
(Xana Kernodle/Instagram)
Investigators are now working to establish a timeline of the victims’ activities on the afternoon of November 12 and the early morning of November 13 as part of the investigation.
On Monday, Moscow Police Captain Anthony Dahlinger told the local newspaper The Idaho Statesman that the four students are considered victims and not suspects in the murders, thus ruling out the possibility of a murder-suicide, and revealed that a suspect is being sought.
“There is no doubt that there was a crime, so we are looking for a suspect,” he said.
Moscow Mayor Art Bettge described the killings as a “crime of passion” and a “unique situation.”
“Something had happened that resulted in these deaths, there was no robbery,” he said.
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Ethan Chapin (20 years old), Madison Mogen (21), Xana Kernodle (20) and Kaylee Goncalves (21) were murdered on Sunday
(Instagram)
However, in an interview with Fox News Digital, the mayor seemed to admit that all potential motives were on the table.
“It’s one of a myriad of possibilities, including a robbery gone wrong, a mugging gone wrong… any one of those is a possibility and doesn’t exclude the others,” he said Monday.
The mayor added that the students likely died between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Sunday, and their bodies went several hours without being discovered. The police captain has not confirmed this timeline.
While police have said they are treating the incident as a homicide and are looking for a suspect, they have not confirmed whether or not they have a particular suspect or suspects on their radar.
The victims
The identities of the four victims were released to the public Monday: Ethan Chapin (20) of Conway, Washington; Madison Mogen (21) of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle (20) from Avondale, Arizona; and Kaylee Goncalves (21) of Rathdrum, Idaho.
Chapin was a freshman and a member of Sigma Chi fraternity, while Goncalves was a general studies senior and a member of Alpha Phi sorority.
Both Kernodle and Mogen were members of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, both majoring in marketing: the former a freshman, the latter a senior.
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Investigators at the house where the bodies were discovered
(©Daily News)
According to his accounts in the social media, the four were close friends and the three young women were roommates. Kernodle and Chapin appear to have been dating.
Mogen and Goncalves graduated from Lake City High School together in 2019 and made the college’s dean’s list in the spring of 2021.
Tributes rain down
Tributes to the victims rained down on social media as a community vigil was planned for Wednesday.
Goncalves’s family shared a heartbreaking statement on social media revealing that the 21-year-old was expecting a fresh start in Texas within a couple of months.
“She was looking forward to her upcoming job in tech, a move to Texas, road trips in her newly purchased Range Rover, and a trip she planned to Europe,” they wrote.
Describing her as “our defender and protector”, the family vowed to fight for “justice” for her death.
“She would never stop fighting for us and demanding truth and justice and neither would we,” they wrote.
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Officials have not named a suspect but said the killings are being treated as a homicide.
(©Daily News)
Goncalves’ grieving loved ones also urged people to “refrain from spreading harmful rumors” about the deaths, reminding people that they, too, can see comments and posts shared on social media.
The owners of the local family restaurant Mad Greek, where Mogen and Kernodle worked part-time, also paid tribute to the students in a Facebook post.
“Xana and Maddie were servers here for several years and brought such joy to our restaurant and everyone they met,” the tribute read.
“We will miss them very much. Thank you for being a part of our family/team and for helping me so much over the years. Until we meet again”.
Anyone with information about the homicides is asked to call the Moscow Police Department at 208-883-7054.