Puzzling quadruple murder in Idaho

I haven’t seen any threads about this story, so I thought I would make one on these murders.

In the early morning hours of Nov 13th, 4 University of Idaho students were all stabbed to death in their rented house in the city of Moscow near the university, 3 young women and 1 young man.
The 3 women were roommates that lived in the house and the man was the boyfriend of one of the women.

At 11:58AM on the 13th, authorities received a 911 call about an unconscious person at that residence.
When police arrived they found the murder scene with 4 victims that all were stabbed to death in their beds according to the coroner.
There were 2 other female roommates that lived with the 3 that were killed but they were not harmed and apparently they were in the house when the killings took place.

Police have been pretty tight lipped on any possible suspects and overall, tight lipped on the entire case.
Police believe that they were killed between the hours of 3 and 4 AM.
2 of the girls were seen on a Twitch live stream ordering food from a food truck that parks in downtown Moscow about a mile from their home at around 1:40 AM after leaving an area bar.
The other 2 victims were at a party at a fraternity house only a few hundred feet from the house and police say that they all arrived home about the same time around 2AM.

Police will not say who it was that phoned 911 but they will only say the call came from 1 of the 2 surviving women’s cell phone.
And they have not said why the call came in some 6, 7 or 8 hours after they suspect the crimes occurred.
They have seemed to rule out multiple people in the case so far including the 2 roommates and a man that was seen in the Twitch video that arrived at the food truck with the women and also the person that gave the 2 women a ride home.

Then there is speculation that the case of a couple’s pet dog that was apparently taken from their yard and was found “skinned” a few weeks prior, not far from the home where the students were killed, is some how connected.

Just out today there is news reports that there has not been a murder in Moscow, ID in over 7 years fueling speculation that the police have bungled the case even though they have enlisted help from the Idaho State Police and the FBI.

There are many seemingly inconsistent facts about this case and the lack of many facts about it overall.
Has anyone else been following this strange case and I would be interested to know what are your thoughts about it?


There are many, many news sources online about this case and a simple Google search will provide many links, so I will not post all of them.

Here is the news story from today about not having a murder in Moscow, ID for 7 years….

www.foxnews.com...

Sounds like a prime place for that person to get a way with murder

I have been following this one also. Very odd. There has to be some local tie in that is not being released yet. The fact there was a violent murder and two others survived in the same house tells me it was targeted.

I could not imagine being one of those parents knowing how my child died in fear.

I feel bad for the loss but the only reason it's being promoted so much in the media is it was 2 cute blond girls .

a reply to: RazorV66

They have seemed to rule out multiple people in the case so far including the 2 roommates

I haven't followed the case closely, so I'm kind of surprised the roommates had been cleared. The last I had heard is that there were inconsistencies in their accounts of what happened.

originally posted by: Butterfinger
Sounds like a prime place for that person to get a way with murder

Even though it’s only been 8 days since the murders, it almost seems like that is true given the strange lack of many hard facts from the police.
I am sure they are not showing their entire hand for the sake of the investigation but even the parents seem to be questioning the police.

originally posted by: Ravenwatcher
I feel bad for the loss but the only reason it's being promoted so much in the media is it was 2 cute blond girls .

Possibly but murders are fairly rare in Moscow Idaho, quadruple murders even more so. I don't like promoting other sites but for shear info, media links and speculation, and discussion check out

www.websleuths.com...

loads of info and media links are in the threads that are already massive.

At the press conference today 11.20.22, LE remarked that they are focused on the area "South of Taylor Avenue to Palouse River Drive" and "West of Highway 95". This area is South of the crime scene.

The following coordinates can be referenced on Google Earth (note: Google Earth, not Google Maps) - just cut and paste in the search bar. I'm only suggesting a possible exit path - I don't know this area at all personally.

To me, the LE reference suggests maybe they believe the perpetrator's path of egress was out the back area of the house (located at 1122 King Rd - 46°43'18.91"N, 117° 0'38.78"W) as opposed to down King Road or East of the house. There are many structures with windows and potential cameras around the King Road house - I'd think the perp would have been aware of that and chose the safest way out. The area with the least visibility seems to be the forested area behind the house. Even though there are fences enclosing adjacent properties, the fences appear to be scalable. The forested area abuts Walenta Drive at various points:
46°43'17.56"N, 117° 0'42.19"W
46°43'17.16"N, 117° 0'40.94"W
46°43'16.63"N, 117° 0'39.97"W

The house located on Walenta at 46°43'17.16"N, 117° 0'39.94"W seems critical to ask if there are cameras. Up the hill from this area about 65 yards is where Walenta Dr. intersects with Ridge Road - from this intersection there is a footpath about 20 yards away (46°43'14.91"N, 117° 0'39.02"W). The path heads South and has several sets of stairs and is about 110 yards long, ending at a cul-de-sac called Shetland Court. This looks like a public access path (not locked) - but I can't find anything online. If it's an open path for walking, could there be evidence in that area (it looks surrounded by trees)? Is it possible the perp could have taken this path and parked a car at the bottom (46°43'12.29"N 117° 0'38.88"W)? My guess is it would have taken less than 10 mins from the crime scene to get to that place. Also Shetland Court leads to Colt Rd, which leads to Conestoga Dr, which leads to Palouse River Drive on the edge of town. Easy exit out of town.

I was just there 2 weeks ago as both my sons go to WSU. All that area is pretty much out in the middle of nowhere of wheat fields that go forever. My son said it was known as a party house so the door code would be well known by many.

My son just told me there is a Cult there that are really strange people called the Christ Church.

CC

originally posted by: matafuchs
I have been following this one also. Very odd. There has to be some local tie in that is not being released yet. The fact there was a violent murder and two others survived in the same house tells me it was targeted.

I could not imagine being one of those parents knowing how my child died in fear.

It certainly seems like it has to be someone that knew the victims.
Lots of odd inconsistencies about the known facts so far.

originally posted by: Ravenwatcher
I feel bad for the loss but the only reason it's being promoted so much in the media is it was 2 cute blond girls .

Well there might be some truth to that but 4 violent murders occurring in the same house is very newsworthy, in spite of that.

a reply to: Ravenwatcher

Please expand upon your theory.

originally posted by: Xcalibur254
a reply to: RazorV66

They have seemed to rule out multiple people in the case so far including the 2 roommates

I haven't followed the case closely, so I'm kind of surprised the roommates had been cleared. The last I had heard is that there were inconsistencies in their accounts of what happened.

That’s what I saw, that they are not considering them suspects.
Unless they are just saying that to throw them off, I don’t know.

Edit - It shouldn’t be too hard for the police to figure out if it was them.
After 4 murders by stabbing there should be a lot of blood on the perpetrator and they would have to wash it off.
Easy enough to check the drains in the house for blood that was washed off.

a reply to: putnam6

Thanks for that link, I have not seen that before now.
I’ll check it out.

i've been following it.

the town hasn't had a murder in like 7 years so the local cops are rusty.

the fbi and state cops are helping.

yes it's puzzling.

he roommates made the 911 call at around noon.
they said someone was unconscious? !
there should have been blood all over the place! ceilings and walls and floors!

did you see the blood leaking out the foundation of the house?

they are saying a 6 in knife killed them.

at first i thought, axe or machete.



cops said the CS was messy , lots of blood.

at first they said it was targeted and a crime of passion. townspeople and students shouldn't worry.

but no suspects! . even jack was cleared. , an ex boyfriend of one of the victims.

the house seems to have been accessible to most anyone who wanted to get in.

did the killer tire themself out with the first 4 and he gave up on the last 2?
jealousy motivated?

idk.

glad you started this.

So here is a Vice article on the Christ Church cult there in Moscow. Seems not even a hint they might be involved.

CC

originally posted by: matafuchs
a reply to: Ravenwatcher

Please expand upon your theory.

It actually happens everyday all over the US of A but most of the time only attractive victims get publicity .. It's a crime of passion or a crime of drugs gone bad not a real who done it .

OR

Dean and Sam are about to show up .

TIL we have a Moscow in America.

originally posted by: LordAhriman
TIL we have a Moscow in America.

"There are more than 20 towns in America called Moscow."

I know that area well. Moscow is a small, rural college town in the rolling hills of the Palouse. Historically it's been a very safe and peaceful place to live and go to school. (Imagine going to college in the Shire.)

The house is located in an area just south of campus (easy walking distance) that's popular with out-of-house members of the Greek community. It's just behind what they call "New Greek row."
Lots of party houses there.
One of the big questions has been how the two other room mates didn't hear or see anything, leading to a fair deal of speculation.
I finally came across a good aerial photo of the house. Like a lot of residences in that end of town, it's built into a hillside. The first floor (where the 2 surviving room mates lived) is accessible from the ground on one side (this is where the door with the keycode is located, I believe), but the 2nd floor can be accessed from the other side via a sliding door (which they aren't certain was locked). The murders took place on the second and third floors.
From the looks of it, a perp could definitely have entered on the second level, committed the crimes, and then left without having been on the first floor at all.
On a typical Saturday night (with a home football game as well), a lot of people are going to be passed out and zonked to the world by 3:00am.
Local police have interviewed workers in several stores; they're specifically asking about anyone purchasing a K-Bar-style knife.

originally posted by: Xtrozero
So here is a Vice article on the Christ Church cult there in Moscow. Seems not even a hint they might be involved.

CC

didn't trump want to build a hotel in moscow?