Law&Crime Sidebar - Idaho Student Murders: Where Things Stand

Episode Date: December 2, 2022

Nearly three weeks after the Idaho student murders shocked the college town of Moscow, investigators have backtracked on some of their public statements related to the case. The Law&Crime Network's Jesse Weber breaks down what we know so far about the investigation.LAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokePodcasting - Sam GoldbergVideo Editing - Logan HarrisGuest Booking - Alyssa FisherSocial Media Management - Kiera BronsonSUBSCRIBE TO OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Court JunkieObjectionsThey Walk Among AmericaCoptales and CocktailsThe Disturbing TruthSpeaking FreelyLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wonderly Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wonderly Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. views shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that will

keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. Where do things currently stand in the University of Idaho murder investigation? What do we know and what do we not know? We'll break it down. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. We are eternally grateful that we spent so much time with him. And I want to remind you that that's the most important message that we have for you and your families is to make sure that you spend as much time as possible with those people

because time is precious and it's something you can't get back. As we continue our coverage of the University of Idaho Quadruple Homicide case, we thought it might be best to take a snapshot of, where are we right now? There's been a lot of conflicting information and rumors and speculation. So let's try to set the record straight on what we know and what we don't know, because as of right now, there have been no arrests and no suspects publicly identified. What we do know is that four students were brutally killed. 21-year-old Kaylee Gonzalves, 21-year-old Madison Mogan, 20-year-old Zana Kurnodal, and 20-year-old Ethan Chapin. Their bodies were found in their

off-campus home out in the college town of Moscow. According to the Lake County Coroner, the were each stabbed and were likely asleep when this happened, although it has been indicated that there were defensive wounds. What we also know is the location of the victims in the house as well. They were found on the second and third floors. We'll get to the first floor in a second, but the second and third floors is where we're focusing. Zana and Ethan found on the second floor, it's believed that they were in a relationship together. And then Kaylee and Madison, who had been longtime childhood friends, they were found on the third floor. In fact, Kaylee's father at a Candlelight Vigil said that Cayley and Madison were in the same bed when they died, which we don't

believe has been positively confirmed by the police. But this could be a situation where parents and family members were told information about the case that wasn't shared with the media or the public. I actually spoke with News Nation senior national correspondent Brian Enton, who's on the ground there and has been following this case about this statement because he was there at that vigil. And here's what he had to say. Yeah, stunning. We did not know that beforehand. And I wasn't expecting, like, a big investigative piece to come out during the vigil. So that shocked me. Obviously, there's a sad component.

I mean, they've been best friends forever, these two. You look at their social media, they, you know, being best friends since they were little kids. So it was just very sad to think about that they got killed together in the bed. But also interesting when you think about the investigation. I was also thinking to myself, you know, we had asked police many times, can you tell us where they were in the house? Can you tell us who was in which room? And they've always said, no, that would really. compromise the investigation. So I was also sort of wondering, you know, our police maybe

not too pleased that that little detail came out. I should also tell you that there was no sign of forced entry or damage to the home. So it becomes a question of how did the killer or killers get access to the residents, particularly when you also consider that there were two other people in the house as well. I mentioned the first floor. Well, there were two surviving roommates who reportedly were asleep when all this was carried out. they were not attacked. They were on the first floor, but they have apparently been ruled out as suspects. I also should tell you that at the time of this recording, it's being reported that there was another person who could have lived at the residence but was not there at the time of the killings. This comes from an Idaho state police spokesperson. We don't have a lot of information about this potential sixth roommate right now, but hopefully we'll learn a little bit more in the days to come. What we do know is that the murder weapon, which is believed to be a fixed blade. knife has not been recovered. Interesting note about that, I sat down with legendary homicide detective Phil Waters, who had this comment about the knife. They keep saying it's a Rambo-type

knife. Well, that's absolutely incorrect. It's not a Rambo-type knife. In fact, I have read where they have identified the type of knife. And the type of knife that they're talking about is the United States Marine Corps K-bar. So when I saw this, thought was is that is this person prior military? So the specific weapon, if they're talking about a K-bar, which is what this is, then there's a possibility that they need to look into military background of some kind. Let's also talk briefly about the timeline of events because it's important here. So Mogan and Gonsalves were at Moscow, Idaho's Corner Club. It's a bar. And a sorority sister of two of the victims spoke to the media. And she said,

said that she saw Madison there for the majority of the night, said she seemed normal, that she was there with her friends. Then we know, according to police, that these two victims left at around 1.30 a.m. They then went to a food truck. This is actually captured on camera footage. And then they went back to their home at almost 2 a.m. As for Chapin and Cronodle, they spent the night at a fraternity. They got back home at around 1.45 a.m., a little earlier than Mogan and Gonzalez. And then authorities have indicated that they believe the killings happened between 3 and 4 a.m. It is being reported that the surviving roommates called friends over because of one of the victims was unresponsive the morning after. A 911 call was placed shortly before noon and multiple

people apparently talked with a 911 dispatcher. Now, we do want to also set the record straight with respect to if this was a targeted attack. The reason I say that is because authorities have gone back and forth about this, about who or what was the target. Two days after the bodies were discovered, law enforcement said that this was a targeted attack, but then the prosecutor's office, specifically lead prosecutor Bill Thompson came out and suggested perhaps it was the house itself that was the target. Moscow police released a statement saying, quote, the Lata County prosecutor's office stated the suspect specifically looked at this residence and that one or more of the occupants were undoubtedly targeted. We've spoken with the prosecutor's office and identified this was a

miscommunication. Detectives do not currently know if the residents or any occupants were specifically targeted but continue to investigate. And most recently, the Moscow Police Department issued another statement that said the following. We remained consistent in our belief that this was indeed a targeted attack, but have not concluded if the target was the residence or its occupants. This comes from a spokesperson from the police department. And by the way, this wasn't the first time authorities did this. They initially said that there was no imminent threat to the community, but then they kind of walked that back a little bit. So I have to tell you, it's not surprising given this miscommunication and conflicting messages that there are those in the Internet who have tried to solve this case for

themselves, these Internet slews. And that can prove dangerous because many times we see them engaging in conspiracy theories and misinformation. The reason I say that is because there is one individual in particular who has been of intense interest on the Internet, and that is Jeremy Regan, a neighbor who, again, internet slews we believe is suspicious. He was the subject of online harassment. No reason at this point to believe that he's involved. And I also asked Brian Enten about this as well. Yeah, so he was actually on Banfield on News Nation. I think it was last night or the night before. And basically, he did an interview early on with another news agency. I can't remember which one and says that, you know, he was sort of pulled out of context and made the sound kind of shady.

And you mentioned the internet sleuth sort of zeroed in on that and suddenly sort of like targeted him as a suspect when he never really was a suspect. You know, he, he, you know, he admits he lives nearby. But, you know, the internet sleuths, listen, they can be really, really great. I mean, you look at other cases. They've literally solved cases before. And it's amazing what they can dig up, the manpower that they have. And they go back through every photo. And they're on Venmo and they're everywhere, looking at every little detail. But in a situation like this, I mean, you got to feel bad for this guy, at least from what we know. You know, it sounds like he just got, you know, called out for something that, you know, he had nothing to do with.

So as it currently stands, this investigation is ongoing. It's ongoing through local, state, and federal agencies. It's being reported that at least 150 interviews have already been conducted, that over 100 pieces of evidence have been collected. The five cars that were outside of the residents have been towed away by authorities for more evidence collection. And even though more than 1,000 tips have been reported, authorities have been clear that they need the public's help. We ask anyone with any information related to what happened with these four, we're in our community, their interaction with us,

others, and whether they express concern or commented about someone or something strange to get that information to us. And I will leave you with this, the absolute fear in the community right now, how these killings have shaken this town. Let's listen to Brian Enton. This is a small town. People are literally freaking out here. Like, I mean, I can't, like, tell you that enough.

Like, people don't go out at night. They think the killer is among them here. You know, people have put double locks on their doors. I went to the vigil last night. They have, you know, metal detectors to get in and police with binoculars up in the balconies. So I think they're walking this fine line of trying to keep the community somewhat calm. But at the same time, also being open that, like, they don't really know what happened. It was weird at the vigil, too, you know, it was in an indoor arena that you look up in the rafters.

They had police with binoculars. They had undercover. They had a ton of police. The metal detectors I mentioned, there was a very real concern that the killer could show up at the vigil. I mean, even the dean of students told me that, that they were prepared for that. So, you know, all of that is going on in these people's minds as they're trying to grieve and figure out what's going on in their town. Scary situation, scary case, and we will continue to follow it. And that's all we have for you, everybody.

Thank you for joining us here on Sidebar. Please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube. wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this long crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.