'Chasing a ghost': Former fugitive task force head reveals what it will take to solve Idaho murders
MOSCOW, IDAHO: A former fugitive task force commander, Lenny DePaul claims that the officials looking into the quadruple murder of University of Idaho students are "chasing a ghost." So far police have given a few key details regarding the horrific attack that took the lives of four University of Idaho students' lives on November 13 in Moscow. First, they claimed that this was a targeted attack but later said they hadn't found any evidence that Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four victims, had a stalker. All four victims, including Goncalves, had gone to sleep after a night of partying in the college town. Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d'Alene, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, junior Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls and freshmen Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington, were all stabbed to death.
As investigators from numerous different agencies came down to the city of approximately 25,000 people, the police got more than 600 tips and conducted 150 interviews. As per the Fox News report, Moscow police could not confirm which victim was targeted. Captain Roger Lanier said in a recent press release, "we don't want to put our investigation in jeopardy by releasing what we have."
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It's been more than a week after the tragedy and police have not named any suspects in the stabbing deaths of four students but the Moscow Police Department issued a report on the status of the investigation on Tuesday evening, November 22, stating, "Investigators have looked extensively into information they received about Kaylee Goncalves having a stalker," adding “They have pursued hundreds of pieces of information related to this topic and have not been able to verify or identify a stalker." The police also said that they will not release the 911 call saying it is part of the investigation. It is surprising even after two weeks of thorough investigation, police have no solid leads on the killer.
Speaking to Fox News, Lenny DePaul, former fugitive task force commander shared his thoughts on solving of the quadruple homicide case. He said, "The law enforcement right now is on a fishing expedition. They are chasing a ghost. It's all about collection right now." He mentioned all the important parts of "collection" during the investigation, from human intelligence to signal intelligence to the crime scene itself. DePaul continued, "The digital footprint talk about not only with the suspect being in that house and what type of cellular intercept may have happened but the victims themselves." The former commander added, "Yes. It's a targeted attack definitely, [but] who was the target?" He said, "it's important to identify who that was and work your way backward." He says that the authorities are "turning their worlds upside down" and there "could be something on that phone" they don't want to release to the public. "They left the ground running with the investigation," he added.