Cops To Release University Of Idaho Murder Victims' Belongings To Their Families

Police plan to start giving the personal items of the four University of Idaho students murdered last month 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,” Moscow Police 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 that officers would start packing up the unspecified items — which are no longer needed for the investigation — on Wednesday. 

Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were all found stabbed to death in the women's off-campus rental home on Nov. 13.

Theirs were the first recorded murders in the community since 2015, according to CNN. 

The girls' two other roommates, Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen, survived and have been ruled out as suspects.

A flyer seeking information about the killings of four University of Idaho students who were found dead on Nov. 13, 2022, is displayed on a table along with buttons and bracelets, Wednesday, Nov. 30 during a vigil in memory of the victims in Moscow, Idaho. Photo: AP

The Latah County Coroner determined that the manner of death was homicide by stabbing. Investigators believe that victims were probably asleep when attacked, but some had defensive wounds. Each was stabbed multiple times and there was no signs of any sexual assaults.

Police have not identified a suspect or recovered the murder weapon, which is believed to be a fixed blade knife, according to multiple news reports.

They stressed that the house remains a crime scene as the investigation into the murders continues.

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"The items will be loaded into a truck and transferred to a secure location until the families can collect the belongings," MPD said. "These arrangements were made in coordination with the families. Anyone near the residence Wednesday morning is asked to keep roads clear."

The Moscow police department is working with multiple law enforcement agencies including the FBI to solve the case. Detectives are processing more than 2,645 emailed tips, 2,770 phone tips and 1,085 digital media submissions.

“We believe someone has information that will add context to the picture investigators are creating of what occurred that evening,” police said on their website. “Our focus is the investigation, not activities. Your information, whether you believe it is significant or not, might be one of the puzzle pieces that help solve these murders.”

Kaylee Goncalves’s father has repeatedly expressed frustration with the police department and the slow progress of the investigation.

Steve Goncalves told FOX News Digital on Tuesday that the family plans to hire an attorney to pressure police to release more information about the case.

"There are things that we can request and things we can do to get to the truth faster," Goncalves said. "You have to fill out forms to get this evidence released to you. I don't know how to do that."

The family has reportedly also hired a private investigator.

"There seems to be confusion everywhere you look," Goncalves told FOX News. "It's just absurd the kind of stuff that’s going on right now.”