Layout of house where Idaho killings took place explained
(NewsNation) — The house where four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death was a tri-level, six-bedroom, three-bathroom house with at least one accessible back door, according to photos analyzed by NewsNation.
The six bedrooms and three bathrooms were spread out across three floors, with two bedrooms and one bathroom on each floor. Victims were found on the second and third floors, according to police.
The father of one of the victims, Kaylee Goncalves, said she and Madison Mogen were found dead in the same bed. Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were also killed in the attack nearly three weeks ago.
The killings have shaken the community of Moscow, Idaho, and left other university students on edge. Many left early for Thanksgiving break, and few returned to campus earlier this week when classes resumed.
Police have not yet identified any suspects, nor have they located a murder weapon. Two other people who were inside the house at the time of the killings have not been publicly identified, though police have eliminated them as suspects.
A total of six people were on the lease, but Moscow police do not believe the person on the lease was there at the time of the stabbings. Chapin did not live at the house, but was dating Kernodle, who was roommates with Goncalves and Mogen.
The crime scene was active again on Friday with what appeared to be investigators. Two men in a Ford pickup truck were seen entering and later exiting the house.
A county coroner’s preliminary report determined that Chapin, 20; Mogen, 21; Kernodle, 20; and Goncalves, 21, all died from stab wounds and were likely asleep at the time of their murders.
Police will not share which victims were found where inside the rental home. Pictures from inside, analyzed by NewsNation, seem to show there are two bedrooms on the first floor with a bathroom in the middle. The second floor also appears to have two bedrooms, another bathroom and a kitchen. On the third floor, there are two bedrooms and another bathroom. According to investigators, the murders happened on the second and third floors of the home.
There are two sliding glass doors on the home: one on the second floor that can be accessed from the ground level outside, and one on the third floor that connects to a deck only accessible from inside the home.
Family members spoke at a vigil Wednesday night, where emotions ran high.
“The circumstances that bring us here tonight, they’re terrible. The hardest part: We cannot change the outcome,” said Stacy Chapin, Ethan’s mother.
“These girls were absolutely beautiful. They had been friends since sixth grade,” Steve Goncalves said of his daughter and her lifelong best friend, Mogen.
NewsNation has been covering this story from the beginning and will continue its investigation in a special hour on Sunday. National correspondent Brian Entin will host “Special Report: Idaho Murder Mystery” at 9 p.m. ET on Dec. 4 on NewsNation. Here’s how you can watch.