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Police Provide New Info About Possible ‘Stalking’ Incident Involving University Of Idaho Victim Kaylee Goncalves
Police said they identified two men who had been “attempting to meet women” at a Moscow, Idaho business in October, one of whom briefly appeared to follow Kaylee Goncalves as she left, but do not believe the men were involved in the quadruple homicide last month.
Authorities provided new information Monday about a possible “stalking” incident involving University of Idaho homicide victim Kaylee Goncalves, as they ruled out two more potential suspects.
Before her death, Goncalves reportedly made reference to a “stalker” to friends and family. Moscow Police now say the 21-year-old may have been referring to an incident in mid-October in which she was in a local business, with two other men present.
According to police, one of the men “appeared to follow Kaylee inside the business and as she exited to walk to her car.”
“The male turned away, and it did not appear he made any contact with her,” police said.
Investigators tracked down the two men and learned that they had been “attempting to meet women” at the business. Investigators said the information was “corroborated” through additional investigation.
“Based on the available information, detectives believe this was an isolated incident and not an ongoing pattern of stalking,” authorities said. “No evidence suggests the two males were involved in the murders.”
Although police seemed to have cleared the two men in question, investigators are still seeking any additional information about Goncalves “having a stalker” and asked the public to report information “about a potential stalker or unusual occurrences” to a special tip line established as part of the ongoing investigation.
Goncalves was one of four University of Idaho college students stabbed to death Nov. 13 inside an off-campus rental home. Other victims are Goncalves’ best friend 21-year-old Madison Mogen, 20-year-old Xana Kernodle and 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, Kernodle's boyfriend.
Police believe all four victims were “likely asleep” when they were stabbed “multiple times” on the second and third floors of the home. Some of the victims had “defensive wounds,” although authorities have not identified who.
Two surviving roommates, who had lived on the first floor of the house, were not injured in the attack.
Police said Monday that a dog was also found at the home the morning of Nov. 13, but it was “found in a room where the crimes had not been committed.”
“Officers did not find any evidence on the dog and there was no indication the animal had entered the crime scene,” police said.
The dog was later taken to Animal Services, where it was picked up by a “responsible person.”
Before their deaths, Goncalves and Mogen had been out at a local bar known as the Corner Club in downtown Moscow. They left the bar around 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 13 and were spotted in surveillance video at a local food vendor called the “Grub Truck” before getting a ride home from a “private party” at 1:56 a.m. Police do not believe the driver was involved in the murders.
Chapin and Kernodle were also out that night attending a party at the Sigma Chi house on campus. Police believe they returned to the home at 1122 King Road around 1:45 a.m., but are still trying to learn more about what happened at the party between 9 p.m. on Nov. 12 and 1:45 a.m., when the couple left the party.
“Any interactions, contacts, direction and method of travel, or anything abnormal could add context to what occurred,” police said, while making a plea to the public for information.
As the weeks have gone by without any arrests, some of the victims’ families have voiced frustration.
Kaylee’s dad Steve Goncalves told “Fox & Friends” over the weekend that he does “not feel confident” about the police efforts to solve the case and said in another interview on the network that the “means of death don’t match” between his daughter and Mogen, who had been asleep in the same bed at the time of the attack.
“Their points of damage don’t match,” he said. “I’m just going to say it. It wasn’t leaked to me. I earned that. I paid for that funeral. … I sent my daughter to college. She came back in a box, and I can speak to that.”
In response to the comments, Aaron Snell of the Moscow Communications Team, referred Oxygen.com to a statement from police warning against speculation in the case.
“There have been statements and speculation about this case, victim injuries, cause of death, evidence collection and processing, and investigative techniques. With the active criminal investigation, law enforcement has not released additional facts to the family or the public,” police said. “We recognize the frustration this causes and that speculation proliferates in the absence of facts.”
They added that they believe “speculation and unvetted information is a disservice to the victims, their families and our community.”
“The Moscow Police Department is committed to providing information whenever possible but not at the expense of compromising the investigation and prosecution,” they concluded.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact the tip line at 208-883-7180 or email tipline@ci.moscow.id.us.
