University of Idaho to teach students self-defense and hold stalker awareness classes as killer roams free
This article is based on sources and MEAWW cannot verify this information independently.
MOSCOW, IDAHO: The Moscow police chief has not classified the murders of the University of Idaho students as a "cold case," despite the fact that five weeks have passed without a suspect or any arrests. The university is now teaching students self-defense because the suspect is still reportedly wandering the streets.
On Wednesday, December 21, James Fry defended how his department handled the murder probe. Despite receiving 10,000 tips, the murder weapon has not been been found by police. Additionally, neither the perpetrator nor the crime's motive have been determined. All four victims, Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were fatally murdered inside the house they had rented off campus, on November 13. Students were advised in November that they could enroll in classes online or at the university's other campuses in Boise, Idaho Falls or Coeur d'Alene rather than coming back to the main campus in January for the start of the spring semester. As more security guards and police officers may be patrolling near the school, students who decide to return may notice, per The Daily Mail.
RELATED NEWS
Idaho murders: Possible escape route of killer suggests they could have fled through 'rural area'
As per Fox, in addition to seminars on vigilance, sexual assault awareness and "stalking awareness," students are also receiving lessons in self-defense. The university will host a town hall focused on home safety for the campus and the surrounding area. Additionally, they were working "with fraternity and sorority chapters to bring external experts in to assess chapter facility safety and security"
Fry and his force have come under fire from some of the victims's relatives, particularly the Goncalves family, who claimed that the police kept them in the dark. He, however, said on Wednesday that they were making every effort to assist them.
Speaking on NBC's Nightly News program, Fry said, "Every family wants a little bit different information, and we have a liaison with each of the families, that we talked to them daily." He also mentioned that the local prosecutor's office has a liaison who communicates frequently with the victims' relatives.
About the families, Fry remarked, "We pass on as much information as we can to them. As I stated, there's information that we've held back, and we know that frustrates them. But we asked them to be patient. We asked them to trust us and that we're going to continue to move through this until we have a completion in the case."
Fry claimed that the case was developing, but he was unable to reveal it. "This case is not going cold. We are still receiving hundreds of tips daily and following up on those tips," Fry stated.
