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Idaho police are looking for the person who gave two of the four murdered students a ride home shortly before they were killed.
There is still no suspect in the murder of the three women and a man in the early hours of Sunday, and the murder weapon – believed to be a knife – has yet to be recovered.
Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and her best friend since 6th grade, Madison Mogen, 21, were found dead in the house, along with Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, also 20. Chapin did not live in the house.
Kernodle and Chapin had been at a party on campus, while Mogen and Goncalves were at a bar in town.
On Friday night, Moscow police said they learned that Mogen and Goncalves, last seen at a food truck outside the bar, were not walking home.
“Through further investigation, MPD learned that Kaylee and Madison used a private party to drive home from Grub Truck at about 1:40 a.m.,” police said.
They are asking anyone who has seen the four to get in touch.
The girls’ roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, were in the house when the four were stabbed to death between 3 and 4 a.m. on Sunday.
Dylan Mortensen (left) and Bethany Funke (right) shared the home with Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison May, 21; and Xana Kernodle, 20. Mortensen and Funke survived the attack that killed the other four
Kaylee Goncalves (left) and her best friend and roommate Madison Mogen
Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle. Kernodle lived in the house with the other two women who were killed, plus two more roommates. Chapin, Kernodle’s boyfriend, was staying at her house
Police were called to reports of an “unconscious person” at noon on Sunday.
The housemates were not the 911 callers, said Aaron Snell, spokesman for the Idaho State Police. The identity of the 911 caller has not been released.
Earlier on Friday, Moscow police said Mortensen and Funke had been officially ruled out, as had the unnamed man at the food truck.
“At this time in the investigation, detectives do not believe the two surviving roommates or the man on the Grub Truck surveillance video are involved in this crime,” police said in a statement.
In addition, online reports of the victims being tied up and gagging are inaccurate.
“The identity of the 911 caller has not been released.”
They said the hunt for the murder weapon continued.
“As part of the investigation, detectives seized the contents of three dumpsters on King Road to find possible evidence,” police said.
“In addition, detectives have contacted local businesses to determine if a fixed-blade knife was recently purchased.”
As the families of the victims grew frustrated and the University of Idaho students grew increasingly frightened, Moscow police said they were sifting through all evidence and tips.
“At the time of this release, detectives have received nearly 500 tips which are being processed, investigated and cleared,” they said.
“Thirty-eight interviews have been conducted with individuals who may have information about the murders.”
Moscow police chief James Fry asked anyone who had seen the four or attended the rallies with them to get in touch.
Footage emerged Wednesday of Mogen and Goncalves ordering takeout from a food truck and chatting with other young people for two hours before being stabbed and left to bleed to death.
The last known movements of at least two of the victims: The girls visited the truck between 1:43 and 1:53 am. It’s unclear if they went straight home, but police say they were killed shortly after, sometime between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.
The video shows Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves stumbling to the desk, ordering a plate of carbonara pasta, and waiting for 10 minutes. They interacted with other young children who were also waiting for food and took pictures of each other before walking off with their food
Dozens of other youths were waiting for food by the truck, which is parked outside a nightclub in central Moscow, Idaho, every Saturday between 10 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. A young man, standing behind Kaylee with his hood up, appeared to be with them, but he did not go with them
As Kaylee ordered it, Madison saw a friend and walked over to give him a warm hug (right). She then returned to wait with Kaylee
The girls walk away from the food truck at around 1:53 a.m., less than two hours before police say they were killed at home
The video was filmed by food truck operators Grub Truckers, as part of a Saturday night live stream.
It shows the couple stumbling to the truck, ordering a plate of carbonara pasta and waiting for 10 minutes between 1:33am and 1:43am on a Sunday morning.
The women appeared to be walking towards the truck from across the street, and when they arrived they were joined by a young, unknown man.
He hung back when Goncalves ordered the food, then waited with the women until they received the order.
At 1:53 a.m., the women walk away in one direction, leaving the young man to talk to others at the truck.
He looked in their direction, surprised that they had walked away, but is then seen walking around the corner, in a different direction from them.