Idaho student killings investigation receives overwhelming amount of tips, white sedan being sought
Idaho student killings investigation receives overwhelming amount of tips, white sedan being sought
A 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra was spotted 'in the immediate area of the off-campus home where the students were stabbed to death in the early morning hours of November 13, Moscow Police said in a statement Wednesday. (Moscow Police)
The investigation into the killings of four University of Idaho students has received an overwhelming amount of tips related to their search for a white sedan seen near the crime scene around the time of the deaths last month, police said Friday.
Due to the amount of tips received, calls are being directed to an FBI call center to help sort leads received, according to a Thursday update from the Moscow Police Department.
"The global call center has the resources to take those calls, categorize them, and send them on to investigators so they can utilize those tips in the investigation," the department said.
Dozens of local, state and federal investigators have yet to identify a suspect or find the murder weapon used in the attack last month in the small college town of Moscow. Still, investigators maintain they have made progress but cannot share details as that could compromise the investigation.
The students -- Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20 -- were killed just days before the school's Thanksgiving break. They were all stabbed multiple times and were likely asleep when the attack began, a coroner has said.
"We're continuously making progress," Idaho State Police spokesperson Aaron Snell told CNN. "But this is a criminal investigation, and as we make progress, we can't always provide that information."
Investigators receive over 6,000 tips
Investigators are working through more than 6,000 tips they have received over the course of the investigation so far. "We have quality information that we're working on," said Snell.
The Moscow Police Department said on Wednesday that a 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra was spotted "in the immediate area" of the off-campus home where the students were stabbed to death in the early morning hours of November 13.
Information about the vehicle came from the thousands of tips police have received in the case, which has appalled the small college town of Moscow, Idaho.
"Investigators believe the occupant(s) of this vehicle may have critical information to share regarding this case," the police statement said, noting it had an unknown license plate.
The Moscow Police Department is leading the investigation with assistance from the Idaho State Police, the Latah County Sheriff's Office and the FBI, which has assigned more than 40 agents to the case across the US.
Victims' belongings returned to families
On Wednesday, police began the process of returning some of the victims' belongings to their families.
"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," Chief James Fry said Tuesday in a brief video statement.
"I'm a dad, I understand the meaning behind some of those things," Fry said. The items being removed are "no longer needed for the investigation," the department said.
Victims stabbed multiple times
Investigators believe all four victims had been out in the hours before the killings -- two at a Moscow bar, the other two at a fraternity house -- but had returned to the home by 2 a.m. on the day of the stabbings.
Later that morning, two surviving roommates "summoned friends to the residence because they believed one of the second floor victims had passed out and was not waking up," police said in a release. Somebody called 911 from the house at 11:58 a.m. using one of the surviving roommates' phones.
When police arrived, they found two victims on the second floor and two victims on the third floor. There was no sign of forced entry or damage, police said.
A coroner determined the four victims were stabbed multiple times and likely had been asleep when the attacks began, police have said. The manner and cause of death were homicide by stabbing, the coroner said.
Police are starting to receive forensic testing results from the crime scene, Moscow police spokesperson Rachael Doniger told CNN last week.
Detectives do not believe the surviving roommates were involved in the killings, police have said.
Police investigating whether victim had stalker
Moscow police said they are still looking into the possibility that one of the victims, Kaylee Goncalves, had a stalker.
Police outlined a situation in October when a man appeared to be following Goncalves outside a local business, according to a news release from the department. Police said this was an isolated incident, and the man and an associate were trying to meet women at the business, which police said was corroborated through additional investigation.
It was not an ongoing pattern of stalking. There is currently no evidence tying the two men to the killings, the release said.
Last month, investigators looked "extensively" into hundreds of pieces of information about Goncalves having a stalker, but "have not been able to verify or identify a stalker," police said.
Police are still asking for tips from the public on information regarding a possible stalker.
"Investigators continue looking into information about Kaylee having a stalker. Information about a potential stalker or unusual occurrences should go through the Tip Line," according to the release.
The federal government is seeking to delay the extension of assisted dying eligibility to people whose sole condition is a mental disorder until March 17, 2024.
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
It's about as strange (and cute) as holidays get. So how did Groundhog Day go from a kooky local tradition to an annual celebration even those of us who don't worry about winter can find the fun in?
Dominic Barton, the former global managing director of McKinsey & Company, says he had no involvement in federal contracts awarded to the firm in recent years.
Australia is removing the monarchy from its bank notes. The nation's new $5 bill will feature an Indigenous design rather than an image of King Charles III. But the king is still expected to appear on coins that currently bear the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall robbery.
When the opera 'La Flambeau' premieres next week in Montreal, Black performers will be front and centre in an artistic medium where they have historically been under-represented.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall robbery.
On CTVNews.ca and YouTube: Health journalist Avis Favaro joins our Trend Line podcast, for an in-depth episode dedicated to the growing crises facing the Canadian health-care system.
A suicide bomber who killed 101 people at a mosque in northwest Pakistan this week had disguised himself in a police uniform and did not raise suspicion among guards, the provincial police chief said on Thursday.
Israel struck targets in the Gaza Strip early Thursday hours after Palestinian militants fired a rocket at Israel, the military said, the latest in an uptick of violence in the region.
Top European Union officials arrived in Kyiv on Thursday for talks with Ukrainian officials as rescue crews dug through the rubble of an apartment building in eastern Ukraine struck by a Russian missile, killing at least three people and wounding about 20 others.
Israeli aircraft carried out several raids at a militant site in the Gaza Strip early Thursday, the Israeli military said, hours after Palestinian militants fired a rocket into Israel's south, raising already heightened tensions under the country's new ultranationalist government.
North Korea on Thursday threatened the 'toughest reaction' to the United States' expanding joint military exercises with South Korea to counter the North's growing nuclear weapons ambitions, claiming that the allies were pushing tensions to an 'extreme red line.'
The federal government is seeking to delay the extension of assisted dying eligibility to people whose sole condition is a mental disorder until March 17, 2024.
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
Dominic Barton, the former global managing director of McKinsey & Company, says he had no involvement in federal contracts awarded to the firm in recent years.
On CTVNews.ca and YouTube: Health journalist Avis Favaro joins our Trend Line podcast, for an in-depth episode dedicated to the growing crises facing the Canadian health-care system.
Lawmakers in Finland approved amendments Wednesday that will make it substantially easier for people to change their legally recognized gender in the Nordic country.
New guidelines on long-term care services by the Health Standards Organization say residents should receive at least four hours of direct care each day. If you or a loved one are living in long-term care, we want to hear from you.
After a tiny radioactive capsule went missing in the Australian outback, an expert in Canada says the likelihood of the same happening in this country is unlikely, given our strong regulations governing the handling of radioactive materials.
Chinese scientists have successfully cloned three 'super cows' that can produce an unusually high amount of milk, state media reported, hailing it as a breakthrough for China's dairy industry to reduce its dependence on imported breeds.
An archeological team from Saint Mary's University will travel to France this summer to use ground-penetrating radar and other technology to assist a United States defence agency recover and identify military personnel missing since the Second World War.
When the opera 'La Flambeau' premieres next week in Montreal, Black performers will be front and centre in an artistic medium where they have historically been under-represented.
Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Kate Bush, Iron Maiden, Cyndi Lauper, Soundgarden, Sheryl Crow and the late George Michael are the 2023 nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, reflecting a mix of country, soul, hip-hop, metal, pop, rap-rock and grunge.
The European Central Bank chugged ahead with another outsized interest rate hike Thursday and vowed more to come, underlining its drive to subdue inflation even as the European economy slows and the U.S. Federal Reserve eases its pace of increases.
Global energy giant Shell said Thursday that its annual profits doubled to a record high last year as oil and natural gas prices soared after Russia invaded Ukraine. London-based Shell Plc posted adjusted earnings of $39.9 billion for 2022 in its financial results for the final three months of the year.
As Black History Month gets underway, Canada Post has unveiled a new stamp honouring Chloe Cooley, a young Black woman who was known to challenge her enslavement in the late 18th century.
The rising demand for ayahuasca has led to hundreds of psychedelic churches in the U.S., which advocates say are protected from prosecution by a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
A team of preteen Ukrainian refugees that have been scattered across Europe by war arrived Wednesday in Quebec City, where they'll get the chance to compete in a renowned hockey tournament.
John Herdman is staying put. After a morning of speculation fuelled by a New Zealand report that the Canada men's soccer coach had agreed to take over the 105th-ranked All Whites, Herdman and Canada Soccer put out the fire with a statement Wednesday.
Brittney Griner's return to the WNBA this summer after being traded in a dramatic prisoner swap in December with Russia has collided with free agency, creating potential travel complications for the league out of safety concerns for her.
A good winter tire will always outperform an all-season tire in snowy, icy driving conditions and be the safer alternative. Edmunds' experts explain the importance of winter tires and offer advice on when to use them and how much you should pay.
The U.S. Justice Department has requested documents from Tesla related to its Autopilot and 'Full Self-Driving' features, according to a regulatory filing.
Europe is taking another big step toward cutting its energy ties with Russia, banning imports of diesel fuel and other products made from crude oil in Russian refineries. The European Union ban takes effect Feb. 5 following its embargo on coal and most oil from Russia.
A 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra was spotted 'in the immediate area of the off-campus home where the students were stabbed to death in the early morning hours of November 13, Moscow Police said in a statement Wednesday. (Moscow Police)
