Idaho cops took 23 days to reveal Hyundai spotted near murder scene

A retired homicide detective said the Idaho police investigating the quadruple homicide that occurred five weeks ago should have been much faster to release information about a white Hyundai Elantra spotted driving near the crime scene. Police investigating the murders of four Idaho University students in Moscow on November 13 were given footage of a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra on November 14 – but it wasn’t until December 7 that the investigating department asked the public for help searching for it.

Landlord Kane Francetich, a local property owner, handed cops the surveillance footage from his six-unit rental building about 0.3 miles from the crime scene, which showed a light-colored car Moscow police say could be key to their investigation. But former Washington DC homicide detective Ted Williams (pictured) has told Fox News police should have appealed for the public to help find the car straight away rather than waiting for three weeks. ‘I’m not being critical of law enforcement,’ Williams said during a recent interview with Fox. ‘What I’m saying is: you must bring the public along to assist you in an investigation of this nature.’

On December 7, the Moscow Police Department asked the public for help searching for the car that was seen driving close to the off-campus house where Ethan Chapin, Xana Kerndole, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen (all pictured) were stabbed to death during the early hours of November 13. ‘The mere fact that within 24 hours of the murder of these four college students, they were able to identify that there was a [white or light-colored] car in the vicinity that they needed to try to identify – you do not wait three weeks,’ said Williams.

‘You immediately put that information our there to the public. Every nugget of information that is gathered by law enforcement is not gonna pay off … When it comes to evidence of a car that was in the neighborhood, perhaps you must immediately act on that information,’ he continued. ‘You get the public engaged right away.’ Williams added that during homicide investigations, authorities usually have about 48 hours to ‘try and process evidence that will bring the killer to justice. The longer investigators wait to get assistance from the public, the more difficult their investigation will become. I see absolutely no reason to keep that car in fold,’ he said.

The former homicide investigator added that it is unclear to him why a Moscow gas station clerk found video footage of a white sedan passing by early on the morning of November 13, before the cops did. Fox reported that on November 14, detectives collected eight hours of surveillance footage from a local gas station about a mile away from the murder scene. But it was a clerk who saw a white sedan passing by the station on video footage at 3:45am the morning of the murders. Pictured: Members of the Moscow Police Department and Idaho State Police collect and remove the personal effects and property from the residence of the quadruple murder of University of Idaho Students. 

‘There is absolutely no way… that a clerk at a gas station should be canvasing a video for valuable information needed by law enforcement,’ said Williams. Williams has been following the case since news of the unbelievable tragedy was first reported. He speculated that the killer or killers had been in the off-campus house before the night of the murder. More than a month following the murders, local police have not announced any suspects or persons of interest in the case that is haunting the small Idaho town. Authorities, who did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment, continue to search for the 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra. Last Thursday, Captain Roger Lanier said that the force has been sifting through a database of 22,000 registered white Hyundai Elantras that fit the criteria of the suspicious vehicle. The license plate remains unknown and may have been removed.

The head of the Moscow Police force said there are currently ‘multiple groups’ watching through video footage as they try to establish any tangible leads. He added that his force will continue their work over Christmas. Recent reports have revealed a number of details about the circumstances surrounding the murders, including that one of the girls – Kaylee Goncalves – allegedly had a stalker. A local vape shop manager (pictured) said that a group of local girls, including Maddie and Kaylee, frequented the shop. He noted that it ‘seemed as though they were all trying to keep Kaylee safe,’ due to her stalker. Meanwhile, families of the victims are growing restless with the apparent lack of progress made by the cops.

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 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.’ Prior to the murder, footage has emerged of Maddie and Kaylee heading to a local bar until about 1:30am, when they went to a food truck and got a ride home. Police ruled out the driver of the car as a suspect.

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