University of Idaho massacre: DNA from victims' fingernails could lead to suspect, sources claim
MOSCOW, IDAHO: Authorities are working day and night to find leads in the quadruple homicide that claimed the lives of four University of Idaho students. They are now hoping DNA evidence recovered from the fingernails of at least one of the victims will lead them to the suspect(s).
Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were found stabbed to death on November 13 on the second and third floors of an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho. The murders are believed to have been committed using a 'Rambo'-style knife as the students were asleep. Their roommates Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke were reportedly in the house at the time of the slayings but weren't harmed. They are said to have woken up hours later and called 911 after discovering the bodies. Idaho police have confirmed that Mortensen and Funke are not considered suspects.
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“If there was a struggle between the victim and the offender, which it’s believed there was in at least one of the killings, it is almost certain that biological debris will be found beneath fingernails,” a case informant told Radar Online. “This will be crucial to the forensic casework.” Embattled investigators, who continue to hunt those responsible without a motive or murder weapon in sight, would hopefully be able to test the DNA makeup and run it through local databases in an effort to narrow their search.
Some local residents, however, are concerned that the police have already "botched" the investigation. "The reality is this evidence was likely obliterated and if the cops had done things correctly, those tire marks would have been photographed, measured, and preserved, on the day when the victims were found," a source told OK! magazine. “The time that elapsed between when the bodies were found and forensics team returned to the crime scene allowed crucial evidence to be corrupted, by weather or other activity.” Another well-placed insider wondered, “With no suspect, no murder weapon, and little to no leads, you have to ask the question: did police botch the investigation from the get-go?”
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University of Idaho President Scott Green said locals "must be prepared for a lengthy investigation" as he encouraged the community to be patient. Speaking of the potential suspect(s) behind the brutal slayings, Moscow Police Department Captain Roger Lanier said they've already cleared "the two surviving roommates; a male seen at the Grubb Truck food vendor downtown, specifically wearing a white hoodie; [and] a private party who provided rides home to Kaylee and Madison in the early morning hour of November 13th."
Investigators recently revealed that they are also looking into Kaylee's ex-boyfriend, Jack DeCoeur, 26, after discovering she and Madison had called him seven times just one hour before they died. Kaylee's mom, however, said the police are "wasting their time" with Jack as she's confident he didn't kill her daughter.