Idaho Police Confirm Mystery Sixth Person on Lease at Murder Residence

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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There was a sixth person living in the King Road house in Moscow, Idaho, where four University of Idaho students were killed on the evening of November 12, according to police.

Until now, updates by the Moscow Police Department had reported that three of the victims—Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle—lived in the house where their bodies were found with fatal stab wounds together. Two of the surviving housemates were in the property but are believed to have slept through the attack.

And in an update on the case released on Thursday night, police said that detectives were now aware of a sixth person listed on the lease at the residence. This person, whose identity has not been disclosed, was not in the house during the murders of Mogen, Goncalves, Kernodle and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, according to the statement.

University of Idaho student victms
University of Idaho student victims Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin and Madison Mogen. No arrests have yet been made. Moscow Police Department

Police haven't yet named a suspect in the case, which has been gripping the city of Moscow and the University of Idaho for over two weeks now. They believe the murders were a targeted attack but said that "investigators have not concluded if the target was the residence or if it was the occupants."

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson had previously said that the suspects specifically looked at the victim's residence and that one or more of the occupants were "undoubtedly" targeted, but Moscow police has denied these claims, insisting that the department is the only source of reliable information on the case.

As the days go by without any suspect emerging, speculation about what happened has surged in the Moscow community and online—frustrating Moscow police.

"There is speculation, without factual backing, stoking community fears and spreading false facts. We encourage referencing official releases for accurate information and updated progress," police said in the same statement published on Thursday.

Not all information available to detectives has been disclosed yet, in order to protect the integrity of the investigation. The Moscow Police Department said that Idaho State Police Forensic Services crime lab scientists have provided testing and analysis results to detectives, but that their findings will only be provided once additional tests have been completed.

The four students were found dead in the home in King Road in Moscow, a quiet city of 25,000 people on the Washington state border, in the morning on Sunday, November 13, after a 911 call requested help for an unconscious person.

According to police reports, the call came from friends of the two surviving housemates who had been called over to the house after the two found one of the residents of the second floor to be unconscious.

Police found two of the victims on the second floor, and the other two on the third. The surviving housemates were reportedly on the first floor at the time of the murders.

Autopsies conducted on November 17 found that all four victims were likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds, and each was stabbed multiple times. There was no sign of sexual assault.

No weapon has yet been found.

Police are still looking for outside surveillance video taken from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. on November 13 from businesses and residences within West Taylor Ave (north boundary), West Palouse River Dr (south boundary), Highway 95 south to the 2700 block of Highway 95 S (east boundary), and Arboretum & Botanical Garden (west boundary).

Any tip on the case can be sent to tipline@ci.moscow.id.us or submitted to the tip line at 208-883-7180.

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About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

Writers Page

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more