Blood-soaked Idaho crime scene ‘major challenge’ for investigators: expert
Investigators face a major challenge in Idaho’s blood-soaked crime scene. An expert said that investigators face a “major problem” at the crime scene where four University of Idaho students were murdered over a week ago. This crime scene is a “major obstacle,” according to Fox News Digital.
“This is a deeply bloody scene from a blood evidence perspective,” said Joseph Morgan (distinguished scholar of applied forensics at Jacksonville State University .). “It’s going be a very complex case when you go through blood samples, when you do DNA typing. It’s a huge challenge.
Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were stabbed to death Nov. 13 between 3 and 4 a.m. in a rental house near campus in Moscow, Idaho. Police believe that the victims were attacked in their sleep on the second and third floors.
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University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle were stabbed to death Nov. 13 in Moscow, Idaho.
(Fox News)
The Moscow Police Department has yet to identify a suspect in the horrific crime or determine whether there was more than one assailant.
Each of the students was stabbed multiple times in the chest area, likely by the same weapon, and at least one victim had defensive wounds, according to Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt.
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In stabbing cases, perpetrators often injure themselves, said Joseph Giacolone, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a retired NYPD sergeant. “If you are stabbing and hit a bone, the knife kicks in, and your hand is sliced,” he stated.
The home where four University of Idaho students were murdered Nov. 13. According to police, the victims were stabbed to their deaths on the second and third floors.
(Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Morgan added that it could be very difficult to isolate a sample of the killer’s DNA if he left one behind. Morgan stated that if we believe this to be a single killer with one weapon, the killer will migrate from body to body and you’ll see what’s known as commingling. Here’s the problem. It’s hard to tell the difference if all of this blood is mixed together.
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Investigators contacted businesses to see if any had recently sold a fixed-blade knife. According to one store manager, police asked him specifically about a KaBar-style knife.
Police believe that a Ka-Bar knife was used in the murders of four University Idaho students. The house where the students were killed is surrounded by caution tape.
(Ka-Bar/Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Morgan was surprised by this detail. He said, “It’s single-edged combat knife with a hilt.” It has a shorter blade and is not as strong as other survival knives. He speculated that investigators could have focused on this knife because of its hilt. This may have left bruises around the wounds from the violent thrusting into the victims.
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Both Morgan and Giacolone stressed that the investigation is in its early stages, and their analysis of the crime scene is speculative.
The home where University of Idaho students were killed by a knife.
(Derek Shook for Fox News/ Instagram)
Goncalves’ parents told Fox News that sifting through the evidence would be a lengthy process based on information they received from police. This wasn’t a case of a single crime. Steve Goncalves, the father of the slain student, stated that this person was sloppy. There’s a lot of mess there. They’ll have to go through it point by point and it’s going to take a lot. They reached out to other facilities for help with the lab work. “
Investigators in hazmat suits inspect the scene of a quadruple murder near the University of Idaho campus.
(Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Retired FBI agent Jim Clemente, who now works as a producer for CBS’ “Criminal Minds,” said another major hurdle for investigators is the mass exodus of students for the Thanksgiving break. Fears that the killer was still at large drove many from the community to flee.
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“This exodus would mask the offender leaving town,” he said. It could also indicate that witnesses who witnessed something relevant are also gone. “
The town of 25,000, which had not recorded a single murder in seven years prior to the stabbings, would have fewer surveillance cameras than a larger city, noted Clemente.
University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20, left, and Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21.
(Jazzmin Kernodle via AP/Instagram/ @kayleegoncalves)
As for the killer’s attributes, Clemente said he didn’t think the attack was random and described the killer as “sloppy and young.”
” It just seems like an intentional event, said Clemente who is an expert on criminal profiling. “I believe it was building up in his body for a while, then he just exploded. “
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Aaron Snell, Idaho State Police communications director, told Fox News Digital that investigators were probing all leads. “We haven’t come to any conclusions yet, and that’s frustrating for the public,” he stated.
Anyone with information about the incident is being asked to call Moscow police at 208-883-7054 or email tipline@ci.moscow.id.us.
Audrey Conklin, Emma Colton and Stephanie Pagones contributed to this report.
Rebecca Rosenberg is a veteran journalist and book author with a focus on crime and criminal justice. Email tips to rebecca.rosenberg@fox.com and @ReRosenberg.
I have been writing professionally for over 20 years and have a deep understanding of the psychological and emotional elements that affect people. I’m an experienced ghostwriter and editor, as well as an award-winning author of five novels.
