The four University of Idaho students found brutally murdered in their home were ‘likely’ to have been asleep at the time of the killings, a coroner has said.
Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21 were stabbed multiple times at their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on Sunday 13 November.
Latah County Coroner, Cathy Mabbutt, has confirmed horrific new details about the appalling attack.
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During an appearance on NewsNation, she said the killer must have been ‘pretty angry’ and that the murders most likely took place while the four students were sleeping.
She explained: “It was late at night or early in the morning so it seems likely that maybe they were sleeping.”
The coroner confirmed that the four bodies were found in separate locations, and were found in their beds.
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She went on: “There were multiple stab wounds on them and most of them had just one that was the lethal stab wound. The fatal ones were to the chest area, the upper body area.
“It was a pretty large knife so it’s really hard to call them puncture wounds. They were definitely stabbings and it has to be somebody that’s pretty angry in order to stab four people to death.”
Mabbutt has previously said that the killings appeared to be ‘personal’ and that some of the wounds found on the bodies appeared to show they had attempted to defend themselves during the attack.
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According to CNN, the last time any of the victims were seen alive was at 1:41am local time on the Sunday (13 November) morning as Mogen and Goncalves ordered food from a truck that was live-streaming on Twitch.
Officers have not ruled anyone out of the investigation, though police have not declared that they have a clear suspect in the case.
Two other roommates were home at the time of the attack and were not injured.
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On Friday (November 18) Moscow police said they ‘do not believe’ the surviving roommates or a man who was seen in surveillance video from the food truck were involved in the murders.
Idaho University said it would be holding a candlelight vigil for the victims after the thanksgiving break.
In a statement, the university said: “Please join us from where you are, individually or as a group, to help us light up Idaho. Light a candle, turn on stadium lights, or hold a moment of silence with us as we unite on campus.”
Claire Reid