MOSCOW, Idaho — There is no suspect announced, but there's a reason Moscow Police Chief James Fry believes a quadruple homicide in Moscow will be solved -- and those reasons lie mostly with investigators trying to refrain from compromising the case.
Fry is confident they will find whoever murdered Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee GonCalves in a homicidal stabbing off the University of Idaho campus on Nov. 13.
Fry's day starts with multiple briefings at 7 a.m. As more information and tips come in throughout the day, more meetings follow.
Every resource is being utilized to its full ability, he said, teams are working over the holidays and investigators are driven by the need to bring closure to the families who lost their loved ones.
"I'm very confident that we're going to solve this. We've heard the rumors -- this case has gone cold, this case has not gotten cold. We've been hearing people say that we don't have the right people," Fry said. "I'm telling you, we have the right people in place, we have the right resources, we have the right individuals, and we have a lot of experience that is overseeing this case to make sure that we get this right. I take a lot of pride in this department. I love this department. I love this community, and we're going to solve this."
A "pit in your stomach" is how Fry described getting the call from his captain that Sunday, when all four students were pronounced dead after a 911 call around noon. The scene was bloody, a local coroner said, and it looked like the students had been sleeping at the time of the attack.
Fry was away for the weekend with his wife, visiting a friend -- but raced back to Moscow anyway.
Moscow PD had called Idaho State Police for assistance before Fry could drive the two and a half hours back to town. There was already a plan in place, Fry said.
"As soon as I got back to Moscow, I changed my clothes and went to work," he said. A successful investigation "all starts in the very beginning," Fry told KTVB.
Seeing such a tragedy could potentially cause drastic mental health changes to the responders to the scene. But, Fry said they are pushing through -- because this case is about the victims and their families, and getting justice.
"There are tears at times, you're human," Fry said. "We'll continue to push until we get all the answers because we owe it to them."
A small-scale police department faces some challenges when dealing with a case like this, but MPD has the FBI and ISP on their side, helping every step of the way to make sure there are no lack of resources. The Behavioral Analysis Unit also has two investigators in Moscow helping to create a profile of the killer, ISP previously said, which may not be released unless the police need to garner more tips.
"No matter where we're at, we have somebody we can talk to, someone to reach out to and have them follow up on stuff for us, which makes it way easier than us having to fly somebody in," Fry said.
Fry has dealt with violent murders before -- the most recent one being 2015, he said. But times have changed.
More challenges arise as a case garners national media attention. Ameteur sleuths from the internet come out to offer their two cents, even if it's not always a substantive lead.
“People look to the rumors and speculation, and then they generate tips or things that they want to report … that may not have even occurred or are not factual,” former Moscow Police spokesperson Robbie Johnson said.
Police have had to ask the public to stop contacting people that may be connected with the victims, and Facebook pages have been made doxxing ex-boyfriends. Some social media pages have started plastering the faces of the victims' friends all over multiple platforms.
A Twitter user even began calling the local bar that Mogen and GonCalves were seen at that night, the Corner Club, and asking the owner if he could provide last names for people she believes the bar is "covering" for.
"Love starting the day being called a piece of sh-- because I won't give some crazy lady a last name," a Corner Club tweet said. "She’s 'watched all the TikTok’s and knows everything'. Yo, the tip line is 208.883.7180 if you think you know something. All you’re going to get here is a hard time."
With such a large-scale investigation taking place in such a small, tight-knit community, it's important to investigators to choose what they tell the media.. A simple mistake could compromise evidence.
"There's a lot of people who... want to be involved on the internet. We are the official source of information. What we are putting out is accurate information," Fry said. "I just want people to know we are committed to this."
It's no telling how long solving the case could take -- but Fry said they will be involved every step of the way.
"We're gonna keep going," Fry said. And we'll come in some day and justice will be served."
- Tip Line: 208-883-7180
- Email: tipline@ci.moscow.id.us
- Digital Media: fbi.gov/moscowidaho
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