Police defend Idaho murder investigation amid criticism from family

[ad_1]

Police chief of Idaho college town where four students were killed last month defends his department’s handling of investigation as family members of victim say they are excluded of the investigation.

Each family wants a little different information, and we have a liaison with each of the families we speak with daily, Moscow Police Chief James Fry told NBC News on Wednesday. Fry said the local prosecutor’s office also has a liaison to serve as regular contact with the victims’ families.

We send them as much information as possible. Like I said, there’s information we’ve withheld, and we know it frustrates them, the police chief said of the families. But we asked them to be patient. We asked them to trust us and that was going to continue until we finished the deal.

Kaylee Goncalves, 21, a student at the University of Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; and Ethan Chapin, 20, were found stabbed to death in their bed at an off-campus residence on November 13. Goncalves, Kernodle and Mogen lived in the house, while Chapin visited his girlfriend, Kernodle, at the time. The four victims were killed after a night out, leaving the city of students in suspense.

Boise State University students, along with people who knew the four University of Idaho students who were found killed in Moscow, Idaho, days earlier, pay their respects during of a vigil.

Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman via Associated Press

Investigators from the small Moscow police force, with the assistance of the FBI and the Idaho State Police, examined more than 10,000 community councils, more than 1,000 media submissions, 113 physical evidence and nearly 4,000 crime scene photographs.

But more than a month after the crime, the police still have no suspect or murder weapon, and have not made any arrests in this case.

What I can tell you is that this case is not getting cold, Fry said. Were still getting hundreds of tips a day, following those tips, still building that image, putting the pieces together and not going to stop.

A spokesperson for the Chapin family told NBC News that there is an ongoing and open line of communication, so we stay informed of any news that comes before the public.

The Goncalves family, however, expressed frustration with the lack of police transparency. Kaylee Goncalves’ father told police his daughter likely had a stalker, but authorities investigated and set aside the tip after determining the man who followed her to her car in October was trying to meet women and was not implicated in the murders.

Kaylees’ mother, Kristi Goncalves, told NBC Today last week that authorities never told her before asking the public for advice about a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra that police say is was in the area of ​​the house early on November 13. The mother said she discovered the vehicle through her other child, who heard about it in the news.

The United States just found out at the same time as me, said Kristi Goncalves, adding that the investigation leaves her in the dark.

Police told Today they emailed the family’s attorney a press release about the white car about 30 minutes before sending it to general media.

Shanon Gray, a lawyer for the Goncalves family, told Today he’s not sure Moscow police are equipped to handle a quadruple homicide and if that’s true then the small police force should hand over the case. ‘inquiry to someone who is more versed in managing these types. subjects.

I know there have been questions about leadership in this survey. What I want people to know is that this is an investigation by the Moscow Police Department, Fry told NewsNation on Tuesday. We used the resources of the FBI and the state police, but we chose the investigators. My command team oversees this, we have 94 years of experience between us.

[ad_2]