Idaho Police Seek 'Puzzle Pieces' in Quadruple Murder

They want to know more about movements of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 6, 2022 6:08 PM CST
Idaho Police Seek Info on Movements of 2 Victims
Candles and flowers are left at a makeshift memorial honoring four slain University of Idaho students outside the Mad Greek restaurant in downtown Moscow, Idaho, on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022.   (AP Photo/Nicholas K. Geranios)

More than three weeks after the murders of four University of Idaho students, no arrests have been made and police are still trying to fill in pieces of the puzzle. Idaho State Police spokesman Aaron Snell tells ABC that the movements of Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle on the night of the murders is "one of the larger areas that we don't have a lot of information in." Investigators believe the couple were at Chapin's Sigma Chi fraternity house from around 9pm on Nov. 12 to 1:45am on Nov. 13. The two 20-year-olds were stabbed to death in Kernodle's off-campus home between 3am and 4am, along with two of Kernodle's roommates, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, both 21, investigators say.

"Being able to locate what they did that night, and maybe who they contacted, maybe any routes that they took home, that would be important for the investigation," Snell says. Police issued another appeal for information in the case in a statement Monday, saying they believe somebody has information that will "add context" to the picture investigators are creating. "Your information, whether you believe it is significant or not, might be one of the puzzle pieces that help solve these murders," police said. Snell told CNN Tuesday that police are "still working through thousands of leads and tips, and we have quality information that we’re working on." Police say the victims were probably asleep when the attack began. The murder weapon has not been recovered.

Snell said investigators are making progress, but "this is a criminal investigation, and as we make progress, we can’t always provide that information." The murders were the first in the college town of Moscow, Idaho in years. Fox reports that Moscow Police Chief James Fry vowed in an interview Tuesday that the case would not go cold—and became tearful when asked about his connection to the case. "I’m a dad with daughters, and it’s tough," he said. "We're human. We don’t go to these and just turn it off ... But we have a job to do, and we’re going to continue to do that job, going to continue to push forward." Authorities initially said at least one of the occupants was targeted, but they said in a "clarification" last week that they don't know if the residence or any of the occupants were targeted. (More University of Idaho stories.)

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