Idaho Murderer a 'Predator Psychopath' Who Could Kill Again—Criminologist

As the case of the four murdered University of Idaho students, now in its sixth week, remains unsolved, a criminologist shared her theory that the suspect might be a "predator psychopath."

Talking to NewsNation on Thursday, criminologist Casey Jordan, who has recently made several media appearances to talk about the quadruple murder, said that the lack of clues in the case might suggest that the suspect didn't personally know the four victims.

"If it's not solved in the first 48 hours or in the first week, are we losing a bit of hope [of solving the case]? Because for me, the longer it takes for them to isolate a suspect, or get any kind of lead [...], the more likely it is to be somebody who is a stranger predator," Jordan said.

"Because if it was somebody known to the students or in the area, far more likely they would have leads and had made an arrest by now, or at least they would have told us they have a person of interest."

Six weeks after the bodies of students Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were found in an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, the police have not found the murder weapon nor have they identified a suspect or a motive.

According to the county coroner who examined the victims' bodies, the students were likely attacked and stabbed to death while they were asleep. Some presented defensive wounds.

Moscow police—supported in the investigations by Idaho state police and the FBI—have received thousands of tips from the public and is currently processing them, hoping to find a crucial clue that will help them crack the case.

Based on the lack of clues surrounding the quadruple murder, Jordan speculated that "from the onset" the attack would look like "the psychology of a predator similar to a serial killer." She specified that she doesn't necessarily think the suspect—or suspects—have killed before, but she "wouldn't be surprised if this person does it again."

"We don't see homicides like this—four people stabbed, not shot, and it's not a family, so it's not a family annihilation," she added.

"It doesn't appear to be a pseudocommando [a premeditated mass murder driven by the killer's revenge fantasies] just based on what we know about the crime scene."

Jordan said that if the quadruple murder had been driven by revenge, "we would have a suspect by now." Moscow police had initially stated that the attack was targeted.

"But now they're not sure," Jordan told NewsNation. "When we see killings like this, it seems to be based usually in fantasy. And since there was no sexual assault, it's not what we would consider to be hedonistic lust, more likely to be thrill-based."

According to Jordan, the suspect could be "somebody who is not killing out of an extreme frenetic emotion, but possibly who feels no emotion—somebody who may be completely psychopathic, to the extent that they want to know what it feels like to kill four young people, get away with it. And if they like that feeling, you can be sure they might think about doing it again."

Questioned by NewsNation's Brian Entin earlier on the same show, Moscow police chief James Fry said they can't disclose any information about where they think the killer might be as they're "still trying to put everything together."