Police may be looking for more than one suspect in Idaho college slayings, prosecutor says - NBC News

MOSCOW, Idaho — The 4 University of Idaho students who were killed Sunday greeting were apt attacked with a ample knife, Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt said.

“It would person had to person been ... not a pouch knife," she said. "It would person been a bigger knife.”

Autopsies for Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20 and Ethan Chapin, 20, were completed Wednesday, and the archetypal findings bespeak they died sometime aft 2 a.m. from aggregate stab wounds, Mabbutt said.

Complete autopsy results volition not beryllium disposable for different 4 to six weeks pending toxicology.

Mabbutt said their wounds "were beauteous extensive."

In the 16 years that she has been a coroner, Mabbutt said she has ne'er seen a akin transgression scene.

"We person had aggregate murders successful the past, but thing similar this with 4 assemblage students," she said. 

Earlier Thursday, a section authoritative said it was imaginable determination whitethorn beryllium much than 1 fishy successful the play onslaught not acold from the University of Idaho campus.

"At this point, the investigators are looking astatine each possibilities. They don't person a circumstantial suspect," Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson told NBC's "TODAY" show.

"We're truly hoping for immoderate accusation from the nationalist to assistance recreate everyone's activities," helium added.

A neighbour said that 3 of the victims — Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle — lived unneurotic successful the off-campus location wherever each 4 victims were found. Chapin had been dating Kernodle.

Police said connected Wednesday that they were responding to a study of an unconscious idiosyncratic successful the location Sunday astir noon and recovered the students dormant with nary motion of a forced entry. They judge 2 different roommates were location astatine the clip of the killings. The roommates were uninjured.

Thompson said helium doesn't judge they are considered suspects.

"The investigators proceed to enactment hard trying to interrogation everyone who mightiness person immoderate information," helium said, "and hopefully fig retired and place what occurred and wherefore and who is responsible."

Police successful the agrarian metropolis of Moscow connected Wednesday besides walked backmost comments from aboriginal connected successful the probe assuring the assemblage that the students were killed successful an "isolated, targeted attack."

The statement of the onslaught frustrated families of the victims and University of Idaho students who said that without a fishy successful constabulary custody, they continued to consciousness unsafe.

"We cognize you person questions, and truthful bash we," Moscow Police Chief James Fry told reporters.

"We bash not person a fishy astatine this time, and that idiosyncratic is inactive retired there," helium added. "We cannot accidental determination is nary menace to the community."

With nationalist unit mounting, investigators shared much details successful the friends' past hours.

Investigators said they had been retired Saturday nighttime astatine antithetic events adjacent the university, with Chapin and Kernodle astatine a enactment connected field and Mogen and Goncalves astatine a bar.

In addition, a livestream from a late-night nutrient motortruck appears to person recorded 2 of the students ordering nutrient aboriginal Sunday. The livestream was broadcast connected the level Twitch by Grub Wandering Kitchen, which owns the nutrient truck.

This inactive from video appears to amusement 2 Idaho victims astatine a nutrient motortruck earlier the incident.GrubTruckers

Joseph Woodall, who manages the truck, said students look to person been determination betwixt 1:30 a.m. and 1:40 a.m. Sunday.

Police said they returned location aft 1:45 a.m., and officials received a telephone astir an unconscious idiosyncratic astatine the residence astatine astir noon that day.

Thompson declined to accidental who made the 911 call, but acknowledged that constabulary are trying to recognize wherefore it took respective hours from erstwhile the friends returned location to erstwhile authorities were alerted.

Prosecutors, helium added, are "trying to assistance them arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable with obtaining hunt warrants for information and compartment records and societal media and thing that mightiness help."

The FBI besides said it is assisting successful the investigation.

Police person provided nary imaginable motive for the slayings.

Moscow Mayor Art Bettge had speculated the deaths mightiness beryllium linked to a spot transgression "gone wrong" oregon a "crime of passion," but without a fishy oregon without knowing whether thing was missing from the home, a motive remains elusive.

"To my knowledge, determination is thing to bespeak that this has been determined to beryllium a transgression of passion," Thompson said. "We cognize it's a horrible transgression and 4 young lives person been lost."

Tim Stelloh reported from Moscow, Erik Ortiz from New York and Alicia Victoria Lozano from Los Angeles.