By REBECCA BOONE and NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS, Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Police in the faculty town of Moscow scheduled a news conference for Wednesday afternoon to debate the slayings of 4 University of Idaho students in a rental house near campus.
A few of the families of the scholars have been urging police to release more information in regards to the killings and to disclose why they think there isn’t a ongoing danger to the community.
The daddy of victim Ethan Chapin said in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday that a lack of knowledge from Moscow police and the university “only fuels false rumors and innuendo within the press and social media.”
“The silence further compounds our family’s agony after our son’s murder,” Jim Chapin wrote. “I urge officials to talk the reality, share what they know, find the assailant, and protect the greater community.”
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The scholars — three women and one man, all close friends — were found dead Sunday afternoon by police responding to a report of an unconscious person at the house. Officials said they were likely killed several hours earlier, and Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt reported that her preliminary investigation showed the scholars were stabbed to death.
Madison Mogan, 21, from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, from Rathdrum, Idaho, were friends since childhood. Goncalves was described by members of the family as an outspoken middle child.
Xana Kernodle, 20, from Avondale, Arizona, worked as a server for several years together with Mongan on the Mad Greek, a downtown restaurant.
Ethan Chapin, 20, was a triplet born in 2002 to Stacy and Jim Chapin of Conway, Washington. All three siblings enrolled on the University of Idaho.
“Ethan … was a form, loyal, loving son, brother, cousin, and friend,” Stacy Chapin said via email. “Words cannot express the heartache and devastation our family is experiencing.”
The victims were all members of sororities or fraternities. Kernodle and Chapin were dating.
There have been no arrests within the case. Moscow police haven’t said whether investigators have identified a suspect or suspects, but said in a press release that the killings were “an isolated, targeted attack and there isn’t a imminent threat to the community at large.”
Police also said evidence from the scene indicates there isn’t a broader risk, but they’ve not provided further information or said why they imagine the victims were targeted.
Autopsies scheduled for Wednesday could provide more information.
Kernodle’s sister, Jazzmin Kernodle, said via text message that her family was confused and anxiously awaiting updates.
The family of Goncalves issued a warning to whoever was behind the killings.
“To whomever is responsible, we’ll find you. We are going to never stop. The pain you caused has fueled our hatred and sealed your fate,” the family said in a tweeted statement. “Justice will likely be served.”
Moscow is a town of about 25,000 within the Idaho Panhandle, about 80 miles south of Spokane, Washington.
News of the slayings prompted most of the 11,000 students to depart the Idaho campus early for Thanksgiving break.
Eight miles to the west in the faculty town of Pullman, Washington, officials expressed confidence Wednesday that there was no danger to residents there.
“If there was any threat to the general public, we could be joining Moscow PD in releasing information warning of that threat,” said Gary Jenkins, the Washington State University police chief.
Geranios reported from Spokane, Washington.
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