Ladder Outside Idaho Student Murder Home Reported to FBI

As the mystery deepens over the murder of four University of Idaho students who were stabbed to death in their beds, Americans are poring over the available information to help crack the case, and a ladder is the latest detail for them to focus upon.

Police investigators remain baffled one month on since the killings on November 13 at the off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.

A young group of friends—Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20—were killed, while two other female housemates slept unharmed. The surviving women have been cleared as suspects.

Moscow Police still have no answers about who murdered the four, or why, and the FBI has been drafted in. The lack of suspects, and limited information released, has fueled wild rumors online.

Police have begged armchair detectives and internet sleuths not to meddle in the investigation or share unfounded claims online.

However, the case has sparked huge national interest, and most recently, attention has been drawn to the fact there is a ladder propped against the side of the house in King Road, where the killings took place.

Reporter Brian Entin, who works for NewsNation, did a 15-minute livestream from outside the crime scene, which remains sealed off with police tape around the perimeter. Entin answered questions messaged to him by viewers and confirmed the presence of the ladder, which he showed on camera during his stream on Monday night.

"Some of you asked me about the ladder," Entin said. "Yeah. There is a ladder... There is a ladder on the other side of the house that has been there since the beginning, which is kind of interesting."

He walked around through the snow that has now blanketed the street, so that he could film the metal ladder, which was shown propped against the side of the house exposed to the elements.

Other photos taken at the scene suggested the equipment was a stepladder, that looked to measure around 6 feet tall or so.

It is unclear whether the ladder was there before the students were murdered, and if so, whether it has been analyzed for forensic evidence, or whether it was placed there after the bodies had been discovered and is therefore not part of the investigation.

A YouTuber hosting a show about the murders took a call from a viewer who said she had felt compelled to report the ladder to the FBI. The unnamed woman told the host, known as iCkEdMeL, that she had "been trying to get somebody's attention."

The caller added: "I've even called the FBI and let them know what I've seen. I've noticed, I don't know if you've noticed, that, in all of the photographs of that house, it's a ladder that is on the right-side of the house. And it's been there since day one of the murders.

"And I have not seen the police or no-one doing anything with that ladder to check for evidence or anything. So, please, look at the house... It's possible they could have used that ladder to get up on to the third floor."

The host seemed unconvinced and replied that the ladder was "really small," so was unlikely to have been used in that way.

Newsweek has reached out to the FBI for clarification and comment.

Moscow Police told Newsweek they are no longer addressing specific queries from the media, but are instead releasing regular updates online about the case. A ladder has not been mentioned in the reports.

Police are appealing for information about a white 2011 to 2013 Hyundai Elantra that was seen in the area around the time of the murders, since detectives believe the driver may have crucial information.

Meanwhile, the university town was packed with visitors at the weekend for a particularly emotional Graduation Day as the seniors' milestone fell in the middle of the major murder investigation.

Goncalves was supposed to be among those who donned caps and gowns, because she was due to graduate early, and many wept during the ceremony during tributes to the slain students.

Visiting families were issued a warning not to walk around alone as safety fears continue with the killer still at large.