'It's been really difficult': Coroner reveals new details about Idaho victims' toxicology reports
This article is based on sources and MEAWW cannot verify this information independently.
MOSCOW, IDHAO: Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt, who earlier confirmed that the four slain University of Idaho students were murdered with a "large knife", has shared new details about the confounding case. Mabbutt stated that the toxicology findings are unlikely to provide investigators with new leads, as reported by Fox News.
The community is still reeling from the brutal November 13 murders of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves. The local police, who have never handled a case of this magnitude, is working with the FBI to solve the crime while combing thousands of camera clips. Meanwhile, the coroner, who also runs her local legal firm, suggested that the toxicology findings are irrelevant to the investigation.
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Mabbutt told Fox News, "They can be related to cause or manner of death, but they are not in this case." The Spokane Medical Examiner's Office performed the autopsies but the complete reports won't be available until the toxicology findings are returned from the lab, which takes three to eight weeks, according to Mabbutt. The coroner has not yet received the results as of Thursday.
Mabbutt said in a sit-down interview with Fox News Digital on December 15, "It's been really difficult, especially not knowing who did it and not having someone in custody." Mabbutt went to the crime scene and contacted every family member to share information from the autopsies. Police and Mabbutt claim that the students were ambushed with a sizable fixed-blade knife as they slept in their mattresses at 1122 King Road. Each victim had sustained numerous stabbings. Mabbutt added, "I deal with a lot of sadness, but this is pretty extreme," she said. "It's unusual for us to get homicides, let alone four at a time."
The criminal investigation is being handled by twenty-four patrol officers, five members of the support staff, and four detectives from the Moscow Police Department. Twenty agents from throughout the country, 22 detectives in Moscow, and two agents from the Behavioral Analysis Unit are all involved in the case. Additionally, 20 detectives, 15 state troopers, a public relations officer, a forensic services team, and 15 uniformed troopers have been sent by the Idaho State Police, as per reports.