The quadruple murder of a houseful of University of Idaho students earlier this month shocked a nation and scarred a small town… but what it did to the victims’ families is something indescribable.
As we previously reported, Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin (both 20), and Kaylee Goncalves and her BFF Madison Mogen (both 21) were found stabbed to death on the morning of November 13 in a gruesome scene in which blood literally poured out of the house. The Moscow Police Department have been keeping details of the case as close to the vest as possible — not even revealing the first couple days that it was a brutal murder, just saying that some students were found dead.
Add that lack of transparency to the fact the police seem unwilling to connect the dots on certain shocking developments, like the fact someone skinned a nearby couple’s dog just a month beforehand. It’s not just another unheard act of violence in the small town, it’s also something aspiring serial killers do… It’s a lead police quickly brushed away — not something they really have the luxury of doing as it kind of seems, at least from the outside, that they have nothing so far. No suspects have been named, no persons of interest. Even the two surviving roommates who slept through whole thing were cleared immediately.
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On Tuesday morning Steve Goncalves, father of Kaylee, went public with his frustrations with police on Good Morning America. He offered:
“I have to assume and hope that this is all part of their plan and… they’ve got this all figured out. I know that there’s some really good, hard-working guys and girls that are on this case that I’ve met. And they looked me in the eyes and they told me straight-out that they’re working and they’re doing everything in their power.”
But the anxiety his family is feeling with the killer still on the loose is palpable. He revealed:
“My wife’s biggest fear, part of the reason we didn’t have a funeral, is because she couldn’t be guaranteed that that monster was going to not be there.”
God. We can’t even imagine.
Speaking about his family’s pain, he explained they were mourning both Kaylee and Madison, who was so close to their daughter for so long they considered her their “bonus child”:
“When you’re sick and you’re down and you’re out, you want to have that one great friend that’s always there for you — and that’s what they had. There is no Kaylee without Maddie.”
On the pain, he said it’s still too much to even process:
“You’re numb … you can’t absorb that amount of pain and agony.”
That made one update the police gave him help a little. Steve says they told him despite the brutality of the crime, it was likely over very “fast.” We’ve also heard that three of the four were probably still asleep when they were killed. It is some comfort, the grieving father said, that “nobody suffered and nobody felt that kind of pain.”
The other thing he says police told him was a lot less comforting — and more outright chilling.
They explained to him that his daughter had been killed by “large punctures” from a “brutal weapon.” While that may make the deaths faster, it’s truly horrific to imagine. We’ve previously heard law enforcement refer to the murder weapon as a “Rambo-style” knife, meaning probably a hunting knife or Ka-Bar. What they told Steve about the weapon is more disturbing:
“The detective said this weapon is probably something [the killer] paid money for and something that they’re proud of.”
*shudder*
Well, that’s messed up. The silver lining of that totally spine-tingling assessment is it means it’s a piece of evidence they must be keeping close and not disposing of. That’s something at least.
Steve’s final message to viewers? Please help in any way you can:
“I have to have my justice. These families deserve that. We just have to come together as a community. Submit all those pieces of evidence… and get this guy off the streets.”
Of course, there’s nothing anyone can do if they submit their evidence and the cops ignore it. See the emotional full interview (below):
[Image via Good Morning America/YouTube.]
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