The Moscow Police Department should relinquish control of the University of Idaho murders investigation, a former FBI agent has told The Post — because the one month anniversary of the slaying passes with the killer still at-large.
“I feel the Moscow Police Department is in over its head. I feel they’re drowning,” Pete Yachmetz, a security consultant and former FBI agent, told The Post. “They don’t have the resources to properly address any such crime.”
The tiny police department, which has around 60 staff and in 2019 boasted just 37 sworn-in cops continues to be leading the investigation, but has failed to provide a suspect, release a profile of the killer or give greater than basic information in regards to the case, attracting criticism from some victim’s families.
The force’s six detectives are being backed up by 46 FBI investigators, 13 Idaho State Police investigators and 15 of its uniformed staff.
“I feel it may be time for them to relinquish the lead agency designation,” Yachmetz said. “The lead agency is the one who makes all of the determinations for a way the investigation progresses.
“After all, coming from my background I feel the Bureau may need higher resources to handle it,” the previous FBI agent said.
Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death within the early hours of Nov. 13.
Steve Goncalves, the daddy of Kaylee, has repeatedly slammed how the police are handling the case and recently called them “cowards” for not releasing more information to the general public.
“I got outraged by them not only coming out and saying this was a lady or a person because they need to know by the quantity of strength it took to deliver the injuries,” Goncalves recently tod Fox, adding: “They’re just being cowards. There are girls walking across the street at once that should know, they ought to be searching for a sadistic male.”
Police have repeatedly said the dearth of public information is intentional and can protect the integrity of the case — but 4 weeks after the heinous murders, public confidence is slipping.
Still, Moscow cops put the tight-knit much more on edge after they warned residents ahead of mid-year graduation that the killer could strike again.
“I don’t think that was appropriate,” Yachmetz said of police’s comments over the weekend.