Idaho Police Under Pressure as Confusion Reigns in Student Slayings

Almost three weeks after the killings of four University of Idaho students, conflicting comments from police and prosecutors are adding to the confusion around the investigation.

Little new information has been released in recent days as officers continue to probe the violent deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin at a home off campus in the town of Moscow.

The bodies of the three women and Chapin, Kernodle's boyfriend, were discovered on November 13. The women lived in the house with two other roommates. Police have said the two roommates are not believed to be involved.

The Moscow Police Department has repeatedly maintained that it believes the crimes were targeted, but has declined to provide further details. "You're going to have to trust us on that at this point, because we're not going to release why we think that," Captain Roger Lanier said at a news conference last week.

However, with the quiet university town remaining on edge, police said on Wednesday they did not know whether the house or any of its occupants had been "specifically targeted"—in response to interviews given by a local prosecutor.

This clarification comes after mixed messages in the early days of the investigation.

Two days after the students' bodies were found, Moscow police said in a statement they did "not believe there is an ongoing threat for community members. Evidence indicates that this was a targeted attack."

A day later, Moscow Police Chief James Fry backtracked, saying: "We cannot say there's no threat to the community and, as we have stated, please stay vigilant, report any suspicious activity and be aware of your surroundings at all times."

The Wednesday evening clarification came because "conflicting information has been released over the past 24 hours," police said.

Detectives "do not currently know if the residence or any occupants were specifically targeted but continue to investigate," the department said in a news release posted on Facebook.

"The Latah County Prosecutor's Office stated the suspect(s) specifically looked at this residence, and that one or more of the occupants were undoubtedly targeted. We have spoken with the Latah County Prosecutor's Office and identified this was a miscommunication."

Early on Thursday, a Frequently Asked Questions post on the Moscow Police Department's website stating that detectives "believe these murders were targeted" remained live.

Moscow Police spokeswoman Rachael Doniger told Newsweek on Thursday that the clarification "directly addressed comments" made by Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson.

'We remain consistent in our belief that this was indeed a targeted attack but have not concluded if the target was the residence or its occupants," Doniger said.

Thompson had discussed the killings in two media interviews this week.

He told NewsNation reporter Brian Entin that targeted "perhaps isn't the best word to use" in relation to the killings.

"My understanding is investigators believe that whoever's responsible was specifically looking at this particular residence," Thompson said, according to a clip Entin posted on Twitter on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, KTVB correspondent Morgan Romero tweeted that Thompson had confirmed to her that "one of the victims in the home was in fact the target."

Romero has since posted an update, saying she had received a letter from Thompson's office clarifying that there had been a "miscommunication between detectives and my office."

"To clarify, investigators do not believe the murders were random, but we cannot unequivocally state the residence, or any occupants, were specifically targeted. I apologize for any confusion," the letter said, according to Romero.

In the Wednesday evening news release, Moscow PD said it believed Thompson's responses had been "messaged to support the implication that new information had been released. Specifically, generalized statements regarding the potential of targeted victims and the involvement of drugs were redefined into an affirmative answer."

The department added: "At this time, there is no change or new information in this case, and references otherwise would be inaccurate. We ask the public to refer to the Moscow Police Department website for any updates on the investigation."

Moscow PD has repeatedly said that "only vetted information that does not hinder the investigation will be released to the public."

It added in its statement: "There is speculation, without factual backing, stoking community fears and spreading false facts. We encourage referencing official releases for accurate information and updated progress."

Robert McDonald, a criminal justice lecturer at the University of New Haven and former Secret Service agent, told Newsweek that the lack of information provided to the community was "troubling" but he added that police had their reasons for not releasing more.

McDonald acknowledged that "it's a fine line" when police departments are trying to quell the concerns of a community, but also maintain the integrity of their investigation.

"The issue that we have, obviously, is that the police are being very close to the vest with any information that they have, or the lack of information that they have. We don't necessarily know what direction they may be going in … that's very frustrating," he said.

"You've got everybody returning to the campus after Thanksgiving break, to regroup in the home stretch for the semester. Obviously, this case and this incident is allowing a dark cloud, unfortunately, to loom over the University of Idaho."

He added: "Believe me, there's nobody that wants to solve this any more than the people who are investigating this case … They're looking for that one piece of evidence that's going to solve the puzzle and bring us to the truth."

Newsweek has contacted the University of Idaho for comment.

Update 12/01/22, 10 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a comment from police spokeswoman Rachael Doniger.