'Killings meant to target one person': Kaylee Goncalves' dad reveals 'vague' FBI investigation details
MOSCOW, IDAHO: Investigators in the barbaric stabbings of four University of Idaho students have gone through more than 1,000 tips received in the 10 days after the bodies were discovered, authorities said during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, November 23. Colonel Kedrick Wills of the Idaho State Patrol also stated that more than 150 persons had also been interviewed.
However, authorities offered no indication that they were any closer to finding a suspect. Law enforcement officials have remained tight-lipped about the case, only saying that some information was obtained as part of the investigation, which began after the bodies of Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21, were discovered on November 13.
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Kaylee's father and siblings spoke with CNN's Jim Sciutto about the ongoing investigation into the killings. Kaylee was one of four University of Idaho students found murdered in an off-campus apartment. Kaylee's father, Steve Goncalves, told CNN on Wednesday that he is "a little in denial" about the killings and is focused on getting justice for his daughter despite the lack of information. The father was joined by his other children, Alivea and Steven, "We all want to play a part in helping, and we can't play a part if we don't have any real substantial information to work from."
When asked how much information they are receiving from the police, Steve said, "They're not sharing much with me," and suggested Moscow police might be limited in what they can share. He further added, "I mean I, yesterday I asked about the stalker question and they couldn't confirm anything, and then today I hear that they're reaching out to the community saying that there's a stalker involved, so I don't know..."
Steve expressed that the information provided by FBI is quite vague. "They're just so vague with everything that they say and then they like slowly peel it back later layer until you like find the real story. It all started with a sharp edged weapon. What was the use in telling the community that a sharp edge weapon was used," he complained.
When asked if the attack was targeted to one person or were all four targeted, Steve said, "I've been told it's one, but then again, there's the bigness like it's purposely big. I'm hoping, but it confuses everyone, yeah, because nobody knows what that really means other than maybe somebody had a different kind of attack footprint; so you know that's... I feel like we just want some more. We all want to play a part in helping, and we can't move if we don't have any real substantial information."
Authorities later disclosed late on Tuesday, November 22, that they had learned that Kaylee might have been the target of a stalker. The reports were thoroughly examined, and the investigators "pursued hundreds of pieces of information" about the stalker tip. As of Wednesday, November 23, they had not been able to verify the information or locate a stalker.
MPD has assigned the criminal investigation to four detectives, 24 patrol officers, and five support staff members. With 22 investigators in Moscow, 20 agents around the nation, and two agents from the Behavioral Analysis Unit, the FBI is leading the investigation into the case, coordinating with the local police. Twenty investigators, 15 state troopers, a public information officer, a forensic services team, and 15 uniformed troopers to support other patrols have all been dispatched by the Idaho State Police to the scene, as reported by Fox News.