Dog found skinned head-to-tail is unrelated to brutal murders of 4 Idaho students, say cops
MOSCOW, IDAHO: A filleted and skinned dog which was found weeks before the gruesome killings of University of Idaho students are unrelated. "Detectives are aware of a Latah County Sheriff’s Office incident of the report of a skinned dog and have determined it is unrelated to this incident," the Moscow Police Department said in a short update on November 21, Monday evening, reported Fox News.
Pamela Colbert's neighbors discovered her lost dog, a 12-year-old mini Australian shepherd completely skinned just down the road from her home, several miles from the scene of the murders off-campus on October 21. Colbert, 78, recalled a supervisor at the Latah County Sheriff’s Office telling her, "This hasn't been done by an animal. This was a human that did this" she told Fox News. The incident had even left the locals fearing that both crimes are interconnected.
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The same day Colbert's dog was discovered dead close to her house in an area near a shed with overgrown grass, Clint Hughes, her neighbor's fluffy Bernese Mountain Dog named Max ripped up his bed. "You could tell it just wasn't an animal that did it," he explained, adding that "it was obviously done with a knife." Despite a week of investigation, no suspects have been identified and no weapon has been recovered.
The FBI, Idaho State Police, and Moscow Police Department are investigating the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20, on Nov 13, just blocks from the campus of the University of Idaho.
According to police, the four students returned home around 1.45 am and were murdered between 3.00 am and 4.00 am. An unconscious person was reported to 911 shortly before noon from the phones of one of the two surviving roommates. A police alert was issued to University of Idaho students after the victims were located. In addition to the house, investigators expanded the crime scene to include a parking lot and a forested area.
According to the Moscow Police Department, a separate dog was found in the residence on the day of the murders and was given to a "responsible party." Anyone with information regarding the event is asked to contact the authorities at 208-883-7180 or tipline@ci.moscow.id.us.