Moscow Police said investigators "do not currently know" if the home in which Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were killed was targeted, or if the students themselves were, "but continue to investigate."
Authorities overseeing the investigation into the murders of the four University of Idaho students have walked back the claim that the victims were targeted.
“Detectives do not currently know if the residence or any occupants were specifically targeted but continue to investigate,” Moscow police say.
Their new statement directly contradicts their previously held position that the Nov. 13 killings were the result of a targeted attack and has left many in the community and those connected to the victims frustrated, angry and afraid.
The University on Wednesday held a moving candlelight vigil for Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. While the community is still reeling from the four brutal slayings and many remain fearful the killer is still at large, the vigil marked the first time those mourning the victims could come together to grieve. But casting a shadow over the night was the fear that the killer may have been in the crowd.
There were emotional scenes as students comforted each other and mourners wore bracelets emblazoned with the names of the victims.
Goncalves’s father, Steve Goncalves, spoke about how inseparable Kaylee and Madison were. He also revealed a new detail about the crime scene.
“In the end, they died together, in the same room in the same bed,” he said.
Chapin’s mother Stacy told grieving students to spend more time with their families.
“Make sure that you spend as much time as possible with those people because time is precious and something you cannot get back,” she said.
