Idaho Police Puzzled by Four-Hour Gap in Timeline of Murder Victims

Police are appealing for information about an almost five-hour gap in their timeline of the whereabouts of two University of Idaho students the night they were killed.

Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, were found stabbed to death in the women's off-campus rental house in Moscow on November 13.

More than three weeks on, police haven't named a suspect in the gruesome killings, which have rocked the tiny university town.

Goncalves and Mogen, both 21, went to a local bar, stopped at a food truck and then got a ride home with a private party at around 1:56 a.m., according to a police timeline of the evening.

Investigators have determined that Kernodle and Chapin, both 20, were seen at the Sigma Chi fraternity house and returned to their residence a short walk away at about 1:45 a.m.

But they are appealing for information about the couple's whereabouts between about 9 p.m. on November 12 and 1:45 a.m. on November 13. "Any interactions, contacts, direction and method of travel, or anything abnormal could add context to what occurred," police said in a news release on Monday.

The police department said detectives are continuing to work through thousands of email and phone tips as well as more than a thousand digital media submissions.

"We believe someone has information that will add context to the picture investigators are creating of what occurred that evening. Our focus is the investigation, not the activities," police said. "Your information, whether you believe it is significant or not, might be one of the puzzle pieces that help solve these murders."

Kernodle's mother, Cara Denise Northington, told NewsNation in a recent interview that she believes her daughter and her boyfriend went to a bar after leaving the fraternity house, but acknowledged that she doesn't know for sure.

In that interview, Northington also expressed frustration with the investigation and the lack of details provided by police. "I learn more on the news and on TV than what they have said to me," she said. "We need more answers."

Moscow Police responded to those concerns, as well as reports and speculation about the case, in Monday's news release.

"With the active criminal investigation, law enforcement has not released additional facts to the family or the public," the police department said.

"We recognize the frustration this causes and that speculation proliferates in the absence of facts. However, we firmly believe speculation and unvetted information is a disservice to the victims, their families, and our community.

"The Moscow Police Department is committed to providing information whenever possible but not at the expense of compromising the investigation and prosecution."

John DeCarlo, a professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven and a former police chief in Branford, Connecticut, told Newsweek: "It is important to remember that the decision to share case information with the public does not rest solely with police.

"Investigators are part of a larger legal team which includes prosecutors and judges who may or may not be regulating the flow of information to the public. Although the police are the public face of the investigation, there are likely many more organizational layers involved in case management decisions."