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Father Of Idaho Murder Victim Described Wounds As 'Big Open Gouges' And Called Police 'Cowards' For Not Releasing More Information
"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," Steven Goncalves said of police. "They're just being cowards."
The father of one of the University of Idaho victims claims his daughter had “big open gouges” or “tears” to her body and called police “cowards” for not releasing more information in the wake of the quadruple homicide.
Kaylee Goncalves' father, Steven Goncalves, told Fox News that coroner Cathy Mabbutt told him the victims’ injuries had been like “tears” done with a “strong weapon.”
“She said these were big open gouges,” he said. “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.”
Steven said his daughter Kaylee suffered knife wounds to her liver and lungs. He described the injuries as something that “definitely did not match” the injuries suffered by Madison Mogen, who died in the same bed as his daughter on the third floor of the rental house.
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“They may have individually died from the exact same thing, being stabbed, but there are more details,” he said. “They’re not even close to matching.”
According to Steven Goncalves, the two other victims — 20-year-old Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend 20-year-old Ethan Chapin — were killed on the home’s second floor. He said the coroner told him Kernodle had defensive wounds after trying to fight off her killer.
“It was a hell of a battle going on down there from what the coroner told us,” he said.
Oxygen.com reached out to Mabutt to comment on the alleged details, but did not receive an immediate response.
Moscow Police have said all four victims were likely stabbed to death in their sleep in the early morning hours of Nov. 13 and that “some” had defensive wounds. All four victims had “multiple” stab wounds from what investigators believe was a fixed-blade knife.
Steven Goncalves speculated that the killer is a “sadistic male” due to the strength that would have been required to carry out the killings.
He believes police should release more information to the public about the suspected killer.
"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."
Meanwhile, police have cautioned against spreading rumors or speculation about the murders.
“It is very, very frustrating to investigators and hard to stay on track,” Moscow Police Capt. Roger Lanier said in a video statement Monday.
Lanier said investigators have chosen not to release some of the information they know about the murders in an effort to preserve the integrity of the investigation.
“We do have a lot of information and we are specifically keeping that information safe,” he said. “We’re not releasing specific details because we do not want to compromise this investigation. It’s what we must do. We owe that to the families and we owe that to the victims. We want more than just an arrest, we want a conviction.”
Steven Goncalves has previously stated that he and his family are raising funds for a reward in the hopes that people come forward with crucial information that can move the case forward. However, Lanier said Monday that there has been no shortage of tips, adding that investigators were busy over the weekend sorting through “numerous” tips received by the public, specifically in relation to the search for a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra seen near the scene of the murders on Nov. 13.
“We’re looking for that car because we believe through our investigation that that car was in the area during the time of the murders and we also believe that the occupant or occupants may have seen something, they may not know they have seen something, so we specifically want to talk to them and we want to know who they are,” he said.
He said investigators have also been receiving video from the night of the killing submitted to authorities from gas stations and other properties and businesses near King Road.
“We’ve been trying to use those videos to garner new information,” he said. “As you can imagine, there’s hours and hours and hours of video, so it does take a lot of time.”
He urged anyone with information about the case to reach out to investigators, no matter how small the detail.
“Anything could break this open for us,” he said.
