The Idaho police chief heading the investigation into the deaths of four college students has said he has no regrets over how the probe has been conducted, insisting that the initial stages were handled correctly while also suggesting that he is confident a ‘conclusion’ will be reached.
But Chief James Fry who heads up the Moscow Police force, in the small city of 25,000 people has also admitted he has no clue where the killer is.
The students were stabbed to death in the early hours of November 13 in an unsolved case that has gripped the country, putting pressure on local police to solve the crime.
The investigation, which has involved not only the local police department but 48 FBI agents and 28 Idaho State Police personnel, has been slow but Chief Fry has defended suggestions the police bungled the entire operation within the first 48 hours.
Chief James Fry who heads up Moscow Police, in the small city of 25,000 people admitted he has no clue where the killer is
Madison Mogen, 21, top left, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, bottom left, Ethan Chapin, 20, center, and Xana Kernodle, 20, right were murdered in their off-campus university home on November 13
Blood drips down the outside of the wall of the house the four students shared. Investigators described it as the worst crime scene they have ever seen
‘I do think they were handled properly.
‘We secured the scene quickly, we called in the state police, we did our due diligence in getting the things that we needed to do to have this be a solid case all the way through.
‘We called in the state lab to collect evidence and I believe it was the initial stuff that we started and how we did things that will help bring this to a conclusion,’ Fry said to NewsNation on Friday.
No suspects have been arrested yet as Moscow police continue to comb through evidence, but Fry said that the police will update the public with their progress as the investigations continue into the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Ethan Chapin, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; and Xana Kernodle, 20 who were all killed in a house near the University of Idaho.
Moscow Police are conducting their probe alongside federal agencies. Fry was at pains to point out that such collaboration is normal rather than an indication local investigators are stumped.
Kaylee and Madison were found on the top floor of the Moscow, Idaho home. College lovers Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were found in a second-floor bedroom while survivors Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke were sleeping on the first floor
‘I think there’s some misconception out there with how we operate here in Moscow’, he said.
‘We’ve called in ATF in the past, we’ve called in the FBI in the past on many of these big cases because they have resources that we don’t, and we want to have the best investigators there.
‘We’ve always done these investigations with the help of our federal and state partners,’ he said.
‘We’re continuing the investigation. We’re continuing to push on. Like I said from the very beginning I’m very confident we will have a conclusion to this timeline as things develop and we’re following up on all those things.
‘We’re conducting a lot of interviews and we’re putting the puzzle together. There’s a lot of things we don’t know. We’re not sure where the individual [responsible] is. Every tip helps.’
Chief Fry attempted to sound positive as he suggested a ‘conclusion’ will soon be reached
Moscow Police Department, along with the FBI, are continuing the ongoing investigation into the deaths of four Idaho University Students
Some members of the victim’s families including that of Goncalves have aired their grievances saying how they felt police were too quick to rule out some people as suspects and that their daughter may have had a stalker.
Earlier this week, during a Today Show interview, Shannon Gray – an attorney representing the family of Kaylee Goncalves – said that the family is increasingly frustrated with the apparent lack of progress on the case.
‘We want to let them know that we are holding them accountable for their decisions,’ he said. ‘And if they are in over their heads, then acknowledge that and turn the investigation over to someone who is more versed in handling these types of matters.’
‘I’m not sure they’re capable of handling a quadruple murder.’
The tight-lipped nature of the detective work has also led to true-crime sleuths coming up with theories themselves.
So far, investigators have conducted hundreds of interviews and followed up tips from across both the community and the country as a whole.
Police in Eugene, Oregon, alerted Idaho cops to this Hyundai Elantra. But they have now ruled it out as part of the investigation
The only lead shared with the public is a white Hyundai Elantra, built between 2011 and 2013, which was seen in the area at the time of the murders.
Detectives are looking for the driver and any passengers who they say may have crucial information about the gruesome crime.
A car meeting that description was found in Oregon, but investigators have now determined it is not connected to the murders.
‘We appreciate all the tips that we’ve gotten, not just from local Moscow but across the nation, and we’re following up on all those,’ Chief Fry said.
