Idaho police to reunite families of murdered students with their belongings as tensions grow over probe

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Police in Moscow have announced that they will return some personal items belonging to the four University of Idaho students who were murdered at their off-campus home last month.

In a Facebook update, Moscow police said on Tuesday: “Starting Wednesday morning, December 7, 2022, and potentially into Thursday, Moscow police chief James Fry, along with members of the department, will collect and remove some of the victims’ personal belongings from the residence, which are no longer needed for the investigation, so that they can be returned to the families.

“The items will be loaded into a truck and transferred to a secure location until the families can collect the belongings. These arrangements were made in coordination with the families.”

On 13 November, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21, were found stabbed to death.

In a video statement Mr Fry said: “It’s time for us to give those things back that really mean something to those families and hopefully to help with some of their healing.”

“I’m a dad, I understand the meaning behind some of those things,” Mr Fry said, responding to why he wanted to personally be a part of the effort. The items being removed are “no longer needed for the investigation”.

Almost a month after the four students’ deaths, police are yet to zero in on any suspects.

“We’re still working through thousands of leads and tips, and we have quality information that we’re working on,” Idaho State Police spokesperson Aaron Snell was quoted as saying to CNN.

On Monday police said that they had received more than 2,654 emailed tips, 2,770 phone tips and more than 1,080 digital media submissions.

“We’re continuously making progress,” Mr Snell said. “… But this is a criminal investigation, and as we make progress, we can’t always provide that information.”