Idaho murders: Type of knife used to stab victims likely to have also caused injury to attacker, claims expert
This article is based on sources and MEAWW cannot verify this information independently.
MOSCOW, IDAHO: According to reports, police are looking for a fixed-blade, "Ka-Bar-style knife" in connection with the brutal murder of four University of Idaho students. This type of knife is known to dull quickly and would have likely hurt the attacker given the amount of force needed to stab someone, an expert told Fox News.
The Moscow Building Supply store manager told The Idaho Statesman earlier this month that authorities had inquired as to whether the establishment stocked Ka-Bar knives and that they are not available in the store. The type of knife used in the incident, according to Jonathan Gilliam, a former FBI special agent and law enforcement official, provides insight into how the attack might have progressed.
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Gilliam, a former US Navy SEAL, claimed to have firsthand knowledge about Ka-Bar knives. According to him, these knives quickly lose their sharpness and are frequently used for survival-related tasks including removing tree bark, digging holes, and cutting leather. "It’s not going to be as thin and able to slice" as other knives, he said. "And when you do get it sharp, it’s going to dull again just because of the nature of the fact that it’s kind of a fat blade."
He claimed that it is common for the knife's tip to snap off. Gilliam said that Ka-Bar knives are more typically utilized for cuts involving thrusting motions as opposed to gentler motions. "A thrusting is much more a physical activity," he added. "And so, the more you do that, the more tired you're going to be."
Gilliam continued by saying that he expected the murderer to have had wounds or bruises on the underneath of his or her hand. As the blade gets duller, it also becomes more slippery, he added. "It’s a tremendous amount of effort that you are knowingly putting out for the purpose of killing," he said. Investigators would probably find "a progression of smaller and smaller wounds" on the victims as the killer carried out the attack, but which needed more effort to inflict with every succeeding victim, Gilliam said on Monday, December 12.
December 13 marked one month since the four University of Idaho students, Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were found stabbed to death inside the girls' off-campus home. No arrests have been made yet.