Police investigating the mysterious killings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, have said they are sure a man or men in a white Hyundai Elantra that was seen outside of the crime scene had information critical to the case.
Last week police asked a person driving a white Hyundai Elantra made between 2011-2013 to come forward with any information they might have. Video of the car began surfacing online from business surveillance cameras—some of which the police have had since early on in the investigation.
The Hyundai Elantra was seen driving through the streets of Moscow between 3am to 4am—approximately the time of the murders—to the town’s largest highway, the north-south running HWY 95. Police traveled as far as 24 hours east to neighboring towns of a few hundred people scouring for more footage to piece together that night.
Police have said they are hopeful because the case is going somewhere. The still-unsolved killings occurred early in the morning of November 13, with roommates Goncalves, Mogen, and Kernodle, and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Chapin, stabbed and killed at the victims’ Moscow home.
The police, after a tough first press conference, have hardly caught a break from the press or web sleuths. Public perception has been Moscow PD is a small town department without experience in such crimes. Early on, however, the Idaho State Police—which has an 80 percent track record in homicide clearances—joined the investigation.
Public perception about a lack of information released by law enforcement officials have appeared to have only intensified questions, including those of loved ones of the slain Idaho students.
The family of one of the Idaho victims has said that they were not given information they would prefer to have had. Police have said they are not releasing details in order to “protect the integrity of the investigation.” Steve Goncalves, father of Kaylee, threatened a lawsuit to compel police to release more information on the case.
Police sought in recent weeks to make clear they did not know if the four victims were “targeted,” if the house was targeted, or otherwise. They remain open to all avenues the investigation may take them.
“Detectives do not currently know if the residence or any occupants were specifically targeted but continue to investigate,” the police statement reads.
Police had implied for weeks that they believed the stabbings were targeted, without offering much in the way of details.
Police have said they think the assault was isolated—a claim they have made throughout the murder investigation.. Authorities sought to reassure the community Nov. 13 that an assault on a house next to the university was an isolated incident, with no public danger. But, there is still a killer on the loose.
“There’s still a person out there who committed four horrible, horrible crimes,” Moscow Police Chief James Fry has said. “There is a threat out there still, possibly.”
The tragic case in Moscow, Idaho, has put a mourning college town in North Idaho under a spotlight. There were just 39 murders in all Idaho in 2021. Police have not identified any suspected motives or identified the culprits behind the attacks that stunned the nation. The grieving sister of Goncalves, has begged fellow students to leave Moscow, telling them your grades are seriously less important than your lives.
As investigators continue their search for a suspect, they urge they want more than an arrest—they want justice.
