Families of slain University of Idaho students speak out as suspect eludes authorities: "We will find you"

The families of four University of Idaho students found dead near campus are vowing justice and searching for answers after police said Wednesday they still have not identified a suspect or found a weapon in the weekend slayings.

The victims have been identified as Madison Mogan, 21, from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; Kaylee Goncalves, 21, from Rathdrum, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, from Avondale, Arizona; and Ethan Chapin, 20, from Conway, Washington.

The family of Goncalves issued a warning to whoever was behind the killings.

"To whomever is responsible, we will find you. We will never stop. The pain you caused has fueled our hatred and sealed your fate," the family said in a tweeted statement. "Justice will be served."

Meanwhile Aubrie Goncalves, Kaylee's sister, posted a message on Instagram urging students to leave.

"Your grades are severely less important than your lives. I wish all the students of U of I safety and peace," she wrote a few hours before the police news conference. "You guys are not safe until this sicko is found. If the person who did this is capable of killing four innocent people, they are capable of killing more."

Authorities continue to believe the attack was targeted but walked back a previous statement that there was no threat to the public.

"Investigators are working to follow up on all the leads and identify a person of interest," Moscow Police Chief James Fry said at a news conference. "We do not have a suspect at this time, and that individual is still out there. We cannot say that there is no threat to the community."

"We need to be aware of our surroundings," Fry said.

All four victims were stabbed with a knife, the chief reported. There was no sign of forced entry, and a door was found open by the first police officers to arrive. Two other people were found alive and unhurt in the large home.

"I'm not going to go into what they shared," Fry said.

"We're focusing on everyone," he added. "We're still following up with everyone that could have been in that area."

Some of the victims' family members have been urging tight-lipped police to release more information about the killings and to reveal why they said there was no ongoing danger.

Fry defended those statements, saying, "We take the totality of the things we see ... and make the best decision we can. I'm not going to expand on that."

The father of victim Ethan Chapin said in a statement emailed to the Associated Press on Wednesday that the lack of information "only fuels false rumors and innuendo in the press and social media."

"The silence further compounds our family's agony after our son's murder," Jim Chapin wrote. "I urge officials to speak the truth, share what they know, find the assailant, and protect the greater community."

Kernodle's sister, Jazzmin Kernodle, previously wrote in a text to the AP that her family was confused and anxiously waiting for updates from the investigation.

The victims, all close friends, were found dead Sunday afternoon by police responding to a report of an unconscious person at the home. Officials said they were likely killed several hours earlier.

Fry would not say who it was that called 911.

Autopsies were performed Wednesday in nearby Spokane, Washington, and Idaho State Police and the FBI were also working the case, Fry said. He emphasized the amount of resources and personnel being dedicated to the investigation, which marks the first murder case in Moscow since 2015, according to the Idaho Statesman.

All the victims were members of sororities or fraternities. Kernodle and Chapin were dating.

In one post, Kernodle wished Chapin a happy birthday, writing, "life is so much better with you in it, love you!"

Several weeks ago, Goncalves posted a series of photos showing her and Mogan growing up together. Another photo, apparently posted hours before they died, showed the four smiling and posing, seemingly carefree, along with two other friends. Chapin had his arm draped over Kernodle's shoulders, and Mogen was perched on Gonclaves' shoulders.

"One lucky girl to be surrounded by these people every day," Goncalves wrote.

A makeshift memorial with flowers, candles and notes was set up on a table in front of the Mad Greek restaurant in downtown Moscow where Kernodle and Mogen had worked. Four white pillar candles, each inscribed with the name of a slain student, burned in the center of the table.

The restaurant's owner wrote on Facebook that Mad Greek would close for a few days so staffers, friends and family could grieve "this incredible loss."

Moscow is a town of about 25,000 in the Idaho Panhandle, some 80 miles south of Spokane.

News of the slayings prompted many of the 11,000 students to leave the Idaho campus early for Thanksgiving break. A vigil for the slain students set for this week was postponed until after the school's break next week, University of Idaho spokesman Kyle Pfannenstiel told CBS News on Tuesday.

University of Idaho president Scott Green also spoke at the news conference and said the school will remain open the rest of the week because some students found comfort in being on campus with faculty and classmates. But the school was also giving excused absences to anyone who feels more comfortable leaving early.

"We will support each other as we grieve," Green said, his voice breaking as he read out the four names. "We just want justice for these victims."

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• Idaho
• Murder