Police take Idaho liquor store video amid search for car
MOSCOW, Idaho (NewsNation) — A potential new clue could put investigators one step closer to catching the killer responsible for the quadruple homicide of four University of Idaho students stabbed in a rental home near campus — and it centers around a white vehicle.
NewsNation has learned that within the last week, police collected surveillance video from a liquor store just over a mile from the students’ home. The store has cameras located on the outside of the store that point toward the road and the store’s parking lot. There are also cameras inside the store.
Details on whether police were interested in video from outside or inside the store weren’t available; however, NewsNation learned that they did get everything they wanted.
The liquor store is on the opposite side of town from a gas station where the video was retrieved on Tuesday.
An overnight assistant manager at the gas station told Fox News she’s been analyzing the tapes during her downtime and claims she saw a white sedan speed by around 3:45 a.m. Nov. 13. This comes after Moscow police announced last week that they were looking for the occupants of a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra who may have “critical information.”
Yet, the video is grainy, so it is unclear if the vehicle seen is the exact model of the Hyundai police are looking for.
A lot of stores in the area don’t have surveillance videos. Also, some stores no longer have footage due to storage. For example, a vape shop that police visited Wednesday night said police came to them nine days after the killings looking for video on Nov. 22, and they no longer had it due to their system automatically deleting videos after a week.
It’s unclear if police are visiting every store that has a camera or if there is a reason that they specifically targeted this liquor store. Police have not released those specifics.
While getting footage from businesses my be a challenge at this point, NewsNation contributor and host of iCrime Elizabeth Vargas said someone may have cell phone video that could help police.
“Maybe there is cellphone video from someplace else have a white car that could help people crack the case that might show the license plate or the occupants inside the car.”
Moscow police haven’t made comments on the gas station footage and are still urging the public to continue to call in any new tips.
The FBI is still involved in this investigation. They’ve set up a mobile command unit in the Moscow police parking lot. Testing that they would normally have to do in Salt Lake City they can now do locally.
Meanwhile, families of the victims are still in agony, especially with the killer or killers still at large and as rumors and baseless theories continue to circulate on social media.
“There are a lot of people out there that are basically trying to get their 15 minutes of fame with different theories or whatever it is,” said Shannon Gray, an attorney representing Kaylee Goncalves’ family. “This is a family that has suffered a massive tragedy, and there should be a lot of kindness and grace that’s offered toward that family.”