University of Idaho murders: Food truck video of slain students offers timeline of their final hours



CNN

Two of the four University of Idaho students killed Sunday were last seen alive ordering from a late-night food truck in Moscow, Idaho, around 1:41 a.m. Live Twitch stream display.

In the video, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves order $10 carbonara from Grub Truckers, then wait about 10 minutes for their food. If they wait, they can be seen chatting to each other and to other people standing next to the truck.

Joseph Woodall, 26, who manages the food truck, told CNN the two students did not appear to be in any difficulty or danger.

Moscow Police Chief James Fry said Wednesday that the food truck video provided a useful timeline of their whereabouts and that the quadruple murder remains unsolved without suspects or weapons.

Four Idaho students — Mogen, Goncalves, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle — were all found stabbed to death outside their shared school returned home from the bloody crime scene on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Although no arrests or suspects have been made, Moscow police Initially described the killing as a “targeted attack” and said there was no threat to the public. In his first news conference on the case on Wednesday, Frye backed off some points.

“We can’t say there’s no threat to the community,” Frye said. “As we say, please remain vigilant, report any suspicious activity and be aware of your surroundings at all times.”

Latta County Prosecutor Bill Thompson told NBC’s “Today Show” Thursday that investigators are still working to identify suspects in the killing.

“We have had no one in custody and the police have not been able to determine who is responsible for these homicides,” he said.

The city of 25,000 people has not recorded a single murder since 2015, according to state police data, and the killings and lack of information have angered Moscow residents. Local police are working with the FBI and state police to hunt down a suspect.

The pair laid flowers Wednesday at the Growth Monument in front of the University of Idaho campus entrance sign.

Ethan Chapin’s father, Jim Chapin, issued a statement Wednesday calling on police to release more information about the killing.

“The lack of information from the University of Idaho and local police has only fueled false rumors and innuendo in the media and social media,” he said. “Silence further exacerbates our family’s pain following the murder of our son. To Ethan and his three dear friends killed in Moscow, Idaho, and all of our families, I urge officials to tell the truth, Share what they know, find the attackers, and protect the greater community.”

University President Scott Green said they had been working with police to release information to the public.

“We helped when asked and kept pushing for as much information as we could because we knew we couldn’t interfere with the important work of a good investigation,” he said in a statement Wednesday.

Police were at the scene of a four-person homicide at a home near the University of Idaho on Sunday.

Police have begun to draw up a timeline of what happened in the hours leading up to the killing, although there are still many unknowns.

Fry said Chapin and Kernodle were partying on campus Saturday night, while Mogen and Goncalves were at a downtown bar before they all headed home early after 1:45 a.m. Sunday.

All four victims were stabbed to death sometime early Sunday morning, but the 911 call wasn’t received until noon, Frye said. The official did not say who called 911.

Green said two other roommates were at home when they were killed, and neither was injured or held hostage. Idaho State Police spokesman Aaron Snell told CNN on Wednesday that the two roommates have been cooperating fully with law enforcement.

“There were other people in the home at the time, but we weren’t just concerned about them, we were concerned about everyone who might have come in and out of that residence,” Frye said.

After a 911 call came in about an unconscious person, officers found the house with its doors open and a grisly crime scene.

Fry said there was no evidence of forced entry. “We’re not 100 percent sure that the door wasn’t locked, there wasn’t any damage, and it was still open when we got there,” Fry said.

“There was a lot of blood in the apartment,” Latta County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt told CNN affiliate KXLY on Tuesday.

“The discovery of four dead university students in a residence is a very distressing scene,” she said.

Clockwise from left: University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Kaylee Goncalves

Just hours before their deaths, Gonsalves posted a photo of the foursome and captioned it, “One lucky girl surrounded by these people every day” and added a heart emoji symbol.

The 21-year-old from Rathdrum, Idaho, is a senior general education major and a member of Alpha Phi fraternity.

Her older sister, Alivea Goncalves, issued a statement to the Idaho Statesman on behalf of her family and Morgan’s family.

“They’re smart, they’re vigilant, they’re careful, and it all happened,” she said. “No one is in custody, which means no one is safe. Yes, we are all heartbroken. Yes, we are all caught. But stronger than these feelings is anger. We are angry. You should be angry.”

Morgan is a 21-year-old senior marketing major from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She is a member of the Pi Beta Phi fraternity.

Chapin, 20, is one of triplets who are both attending the University of Idaho, his family said in a statement. He is a freshman from Conway, Washington, majoring in entertainment, sports and tourism management. He is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

“Ethan lit up every room he walked in, and he was a kind, loyal, loving son, brother, cousin and friend,” said his mother, Stacy Chapin. “Words cannot express the heartache and devastation our family is going through. My heart is broken to learn that we will never be able to hug or laugh with Ethan again, but it also pains me to think of him leaving us in a horrific way .”

Knodel, 20, is from Avondale, Arizona. She majored in marketing and is a member of the Pi Beta Phi fraternity.

Her older sister, Jazzmin Kernodle, said she was “positive, funny and endearing to everyone who met her”.

“She’s so lighthearted and always elevates a room,” says Jazzmin Kernodle. “She has made me a proud big sister and I wish I had more time with her. She has so much life to live. My family and I are overwhelmed, confused, and anxious Awaiting an update on the investigation.”

She also offered her condolences to the other victims and their families. “My sister is lucky to have them in her life.”

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