Idaho murder victim Kaylee Goncalves’ family plan to offer reward as father calls Moscow police ‘cowards’

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday

Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

The grieving parents of University of Idaho murder victim Kaylee Goncalves have revealed plans to offer a reward for information on the slayings, as they shared fresh frustration with progress in the case.

As the investigation by Moscow Police Department, Idaho State Police and the FBI enters its fifth week with no indications of a possible suspect, the 21-year-old victim’s mother Kristi Goncalves told Fox News Digital that her family is weighing alternative options to find her daughter’s killer.

“Our family would like to fundraise in hopes to offer a reward, and possibly hire a private investigator if that becomes necessary,” Ms Goncalves said.

Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally murdered between 3am and 4am on 13 November in an off-campus rental home. Officers arrived at the residence nearly nine hours later after a 911 call about an “unconscious individual” was made from the phone of one of the two surviving roommates who were on the first floor at the time of the attacks.

Moscow Police announced last week that law enforcement was receiving an overwhelming influx of tips about a white Hyundai Elantra seen near the crime scene around the time of the murders but have offered no updates on whether any of those tips are being investigated as concrete leads.

The lack of substantial developments in the case has drawn growing criticism from the victims’ families, with Goncalves’ father Steve Goncalves calling police “cowards” for staying tight-lipped on the case.

Speaking to Fox alongside his wife, Mr Goncalves offered gruesome new details about the manner of the killings.

He said when he asked Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt how many times the victims were stabbed, he learned they had “big open gouges”.

“She says, sir, I don’t think stabs is the right word, it was like tears, like this was a strong weapon, not like a stab,” he said in reference to the conversation with Ms Mabbutt.

“She said these were big open gouges. She said it was quick. These weren’t something where you were going to be able to call 911. They were not going to slowly bleed out.”

Mr Goncalves expressed anger that police haven’t identified the gender of the suspect, given the brutality of the wounds.

“I got outraged by them not just coming out and saying this was a woman or a man because they should know by the amount of strength it took to deliver the injuries,” he said.

“They’re just being cowards. There are girls walking around the street right now that deserve to know. They should be looking out for a sadistic male.”

Ms Goncalves told Fox that the family is raising funds for a reward through a GoFundMe and a GiveSendGo page created by family friends. Nearly $15,000 have been raised between the two pages.

“The money raised will go directly to getting us answers as well as helping to pay for Kaylee’s final arrangements and her celebration of life on December 30,” Ms Goncalves said.

Previously, Mr Goncalves previously said that the family were hesitant to hold a funeral for their daughter for fear that the perpetrator of the crime would attend.

The Independent has reached out to the Moscow Police Department and Idaho State Police for comment.

“Investigators continue to get good tips and leads and are focusing on those at this time,” Moscow Police told Fox.

Meanwhile, the victims were remembered at a graduation ceremony over the weekend, where police had warned attendees to “stay vigilant” and to travel in groups with the mass killer still at large.

University of Idaho President C. Scott Green opened the college’s winter commencement ceremony on Saturday by paying tribute to the slain students.

“It’s been a rough few weeks for our campus,” he told the 550 students and their family members who had gathered for the service.

“They were bright lights on our campus and cherished members of our community,” he added.

Kaylee Goncalves should have been celebrating her own graduation at the service before she planned to move to Texas for a new job.

The University of Idaho’s winter commencement appeared to take place without any major issues after safety concerns were raised about the event when the mass murderer is still at large.

In an announcement on Saturday morning, Moscow Police warned students, locals and visitors to the college town to “stay vigilant”, travel in groups and stay in contact with other people during the celebration.

The warning came after police have repeatedly given conflicting statements in the aftermath of the murders about whether or not there is a risk to the wider public.

In the early days of the investigation, Moscow Police insisted that there was “no imminent threat” to the community because it was “an isolated, targeted attack” – despite having no suspects even on their radar.

Three days on from the killing, they then walked back that assertion, admitting that – with the perpetrator still at large – “there is a threat” and urging the public to stay “vigilant”.

Now, a month after the murders, no arrests have been made and no suspects have been identified.

A search is currently underway for the mystery driver of a white car spotted near the students’ home around the time of the murders.

In what appeared to be the strongest lead to date, Moscow Police announced last Wednesday that they were looking to speak to the occupant or occupants of a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra which was seen near the King Road home in the early hours of 13 November.

“Investigators believe the occupant(s) of this vehicle may have critical information to share regarding this case,” police said in a statement.

Police are urging the public to come forward with any information, revealing that it might just be the missing “piece of the puzzle”.

Border agents along the US’s border with Canada have been notified to be on the lookout for the car and tips have been pouring in from the public.

Moscow Police have been so inundated with tips about the vehicle that the calls are being directed to a national FBI tip line. As of Saturday, police said that they are still looking to speak to the occupants and the licence plate remains unknown.

On the night of 12 November, Kernodle and Chapin were at a sorority party at Sigma Chi house together from 8pm to 9pm and arrived back at the home at around 1.45am. It is unclear where they were in the five-hour time gap.

Goncalves and Mogen had spent the night at The Corner Club bar in downtown Moscow, before stopping by a food truck and then getting a ride home from an unnamed “private party” to arrive at the property at around 1.56am.

Two surviving roommates were also out that night and arrived home at around 1am, police said. The two women, who lived in rooms on the first floor of the home, are believed to have slept through the brutal killings and were unharmed.

The horrific crime scene went unnoticed for several more hours, with police receiving a 911 call at 11.58am on Sunday, reporting an “unconscious individual” at the home.

The two other roommates had first called friends to the home because they believed one of the second floor victims was unconscious and would not wake up. When the friends arrived, a 911 call was made from one of the roommates’ phones.

Several people have been ruled out as suspects: the two surviving housemates, the man who was caught on camera with Mogen and Goncalves at a food truck in the downtown area before they headed home on the night of the slayings, the person who gave Mogen and Goncalves a ride home from the food truck, Goncalves’ former long-term boyfriend and the friends who were in the home when the 911 call.

A sixth person listed on the lease of the student home and two men involved in a “stalker” incident with Goncalves around a month before the murders are also not believed to be connected to the case, police said.