Newly surfaced video shows a mystery man lingering near two of the slain University of Idaho students hours before they were killed in what cops described as “targeted” murders.
The four university students were found dead Sunday afternoon in a bloody scene that law enforcement sources said was the “worst they’ve ever seen.”
The victims were Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21 and Xana Kernodle, 20, the New York Post reports.
Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves appear to be captured in a Twitch livestream shot outside a food truck in Moscow, shortly before they were found fatally stabbed at an off-campus house Sunday.
Authorities said they are looking to speak with other people in the video, which shows a man walking with the two women and hovering nearby as they chat with each other and check a phone.
“They’re in the process of identifying the other people who were there … and what sort of contact did they have,” Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson told WIVB-TV.
The food-truck video, posted to Twitter by KHQ-TV reporter John Webb, shows two of the victims apparently waiting for late-night eats on a crowded street. The grainy footage shows the unidentified man waiting a few feet away while the two women chat and check the phone.
When they move to the other side of the truck, he follows them and stops next to them but it’s not clear if they speak with him at any point.
The footage was apparently shot just before the victims were stabbed to death in an off-campus house.
Their killer or killers were still on the loose Wednesday although cops have said there was no imminent threat to the community. Thompson said he understood that statement could seem to contradict the little information so far released in the slayings.
“Obviously, there’s no way police can say that there’s no risk, but what they’re seeing indicates there’s not a risk that this person will randomly attack people,” Thompson told WIVB. “I don’t think they’re going to foreclose the possibility that it could be one or more people, but right now they don’t know who is responsible.”
Authorities have said the murders appear to be targeted and were done with an “edged weapon,” likely a knife, that has yet to be located. Police are trying to piece together a timeline of the activities leading up to the killings.
Goncalves had posted an Instagram message hours before her death with photos of her and friends, including Chapin, Kernodle and Mogen.
“One lucky girl to be surrounded by these people,” she wrote.
Blood seen oozing from house
Blood was seen seeping from the house where four students were brutally murdered, Fox News reports.
Grisly photos of the crime scene on Wednesday that blood dripping from the first floor bedroom down an exterior wall at the back of the house.
“It was very bloody scene inside,” an officer said.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that in September, campus security sent out what is known as a “Vandal Alert” to staff and students with the subject line “Threat with Knife” notifying the community of the alarming incident.
“The Moscow Police Department received a report that a group of students was walking between the Steam Plant parking lot (Lot #14) and the Student Recreation Center on Paradise Path and were threatened by a person with a knife,” states the alert from Sept. 12.
A concerned parent of a University of Idaho student shared the notification with Fox News.
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Moscow Mayor Art Bettge previously said that investigators are probing as possible motives a “crime of passion” or a “burglary gone wrong.”
- with the New York Post and Fox News
FAQs
The victims—Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20—were killed in an off-campus rented house. The three women were tenants there; Chapin had been staying with Kernodle, his girlfriend. Two other female students who lived in the house were not attacked.
Who was the killer of the 4 college students found? ›
What we know about Bryan Kohberger, the man charged in the Idaho quadruple murders. More than six weeks after four college students were slain in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, police arrested a suspect, Bryan Christopher Kohberger, who is charged with their murders.
What happened with the University of Idaho murders? ›
On December 30, 28-year-old Bryan Christopher Kohberger was arrested in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. A trial is currently scheduled for June 2, 2025.
What happened to Maddie and Kaylee? ›
According to the police affidavit, Kaylee and Maddie were stabbed to death between 4 a.m. and 4:25 a.m. Just as they had done since they were little girls, they were sleeping in the same bed.
What evidence was found in the Idaho murders? ›
The DNA found on the button snap of a leather knife sheath at the crime scene appears to be a strong match with the DNA found in the trash at the Kohberger family residence in Albrightsville, Pa. Investigators believe the homicides occurred between 4 a.m. and 4:25 a.m.
How did Kohberger know the victims? ›
He allegedly had photos of a victim on his phone
A source familiar with the investigation told PEOPLE that Kohberger had photos of one of the female victims on his phone. They did not specify whether the images were taken by Kohberger or pulled from social media. "He had more than one picture of her," the source said.
What was Kohberger's motive? ›
Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger was likely motivated by "arousal" and "hatred" when he slipped into an off campus home in the dead of night and allegedly stabbed four students to death, experts told Fox News Digital.
What is Bryan Kohberger's alibi? ›
Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger's "alibi" that he was driving around looking at "the moon and stars," is too vague, according to prosecutors.
What was the motive of the Idaho killer? ›
It is not known if the killer personally knew one or more of the victims and whether the attack was carried out in a fit of jealousy or rage. No motive is known.
How did they catch Bryan Kohberger? ›
The police tested DNA from trash found at the family's Pennsylvania home, and arrested Bryan Kohberger Dec. 30, 2022, in a predawn raid. He was later extradited to Idaho.
Kristi and Steve Goncalves told Dateline that their daughter, 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves, was due to graduate from college early and had lined up a job with an IT firm in Austin, Texas. Kaylee Goncalves had just moved out of the house she shared with her longtime best friend, 21-year-old Madison "Maddie" Mogen.
Did Kaylee Goncalves graduate? ›
Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen. Kaylee, 21, was killed just weeks before she was set to graduate early from the University of Idaho and move to Texas for a new job.
Who is the father of Kaylee Goncalves? ›
Also interviewed were Kaylee Goncalves' parents, Kristi and Steve Goncalves, and Kaylee's sister, Alivea Goncalves.
How did they find Bryan Kohberger DNA? ›
After law enforcement obtained the DNA from Kohberger's father and, later, a cheek swab from Kohberger, they found the "statistical match" showing it was overwhelmingly likely that the DNA found on the knife sheath matched Kohberger's, the filing states.
What evidence do they have against Kohberger? ›
Investigators, though, say they have cell phone pings putting Kohberger near the scene of the crime. DNA evidence also connects Kohberger to a knife sheath that was found there, police said. An official trial date has not yet been set.
Who is the suspected killer in the Idaho murders? ›
Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger, suspect in Idaho murders case, file to change trial venue. Bryan Kohberger is facing four counts of murder and a felony burglary charge after the quadruple slaying on Nov. 13, 2022.
Was Kohberger found guilty? ›
More than six weeks after the slayings, police arrested Kohberger, then 28, in Pennsylvania. Kohberger was charged with four counts of murder and one count of felony burglary, and a judge entered a not guilty plea on Kohberger's behalf to the charges in May 2023.
What is Dylan Mortensen doing now? ›
'She is in trauma therapy of sorts, she's getting help from the spiritual community,' he said. 'Isolating herself but she is stepping out a little at a time, she is gaming online with peers in group gaming session. 'She's doing what she can without going into public. '
Did Kohberger know the Idaho students? ›
But his defense attorneys say in a court filing that "there is no connection between Mr. Kohberger and the victims." Criminologist and CBS News consultant Bryanna Fox adds that "the defense is claiming that the defendant, Bryan Kohberger, and the victims have absolutely no connection.
How long is Kohberger in jail? ›
Exclusive: Bryan Kohberger case soars into millions in public costs ahead of murder trial. Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the Moscow college student homicides, has now been jailed in Idaho for 469 days following his December 2022 arrest.
