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Thursday, March 28, 2024

A so-called “crime of passion” claimed the lives of four students at the University of Idaho

The death of four University of Idaho students was ruled a “crime of passion” by a local authority on Monday after their bodies were discovered close to the university campus.

The mayor of Moscow, Idaho, Art Bettge, said in an interview that the authorities were still investigating what had occurred, but that the case was being regarded as a homicide regardless of the findings of the investigation. He said that the police did not consider that there was a “perceivable risk to the larger public,” but he refused to reveal how the victims had been slain or whether or not a suspect was still at large.

The police said that they reacted to a call on Sunday concerning a “unconscious person” and found four dead individuals at a residence close to the University of Idaho campus. Three of the deceased were women, and one of the deceased was a guy. Ethan Chapin, 20, from Conway, Washington; Madison Mogen, 21, from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, from Avondale, Arizona; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, from Rathdrum, Idaho, were named as the victims on Monday.

The coroner for Latah County, Cathy Mabbutt, said that all four fatalities were being investigated as possible murders and that there was no indication of a murder-suicide scenario. Ms. Mabbutt said that her office will be doing autopsies on Wednesday as part of their plans. She said that she was unable to provide any information concerning the manner in which the victims had been murdered because she did not have permission to do so from the police.

The shooting that resulted in the killings took place on the same day as a shooting at the University of Virginia left three members of the university’s football team dead and two other persons injured. Before the authorities reported that a suspect, a student aged 22, had been apprehended and charged, the university in question was placed under lockdown for a period of twelve hours.

Moscow is a college town with around 25,000 inhabitants located in the rolling wheat fields just over the state line from Pullman, Washington, which is home to the considerably bigger Washington State University. Over 10,000 students are now enrolled at the University of Idaho campus, which places a significant emphasis on both agricultural and engineering studies. Since 2015, there has not been a single homicide registered in this city.

The murders were carried out at a house located in a neighbourhood not far from a water tower that had the crest of the local university. On Monday, police tape was wrapped around the perimeter of a grey home that had a number of automobiles parked in front of it. Concerned about what had taken place, it was reported that a number of the students who lived in the area were packing their belongings and leaving town.

Bailey Briggs, a senior at the university who is majoring in environmental science and who lives in another building nearby, stated that she had found out about the case for the first time through the alert system at the university, but that she had received very little information on the case since then.

She said that many people are scared despite the fact that the police have stated there is no immediate danger. She said, “They say it’s a murder – they’re 100 percent convinced it’s a homicide,” in reference to the investigation’s findings. “However, there is “no danger.”” What the heck does it even mean?

Ms. Kernodle’s elder sister, Jazzmin Kernodle, said that she and the rest of the family were “confused and impatiently waiting” for developments on the inquiry in a message that she sent via text message on Monday night.

Officials from the university have said that there would be more access to counselling services for both students and staff members. A vigil with lighting was going to be held.

According to the information provided in their online profiles, all four of the victims seemed to have been close friends with one another and had been active members of college fraternities and sororities.

On the day of the murders, one of the victims, Ms. Goncalves, uploaded a photo on Instagram in which she and the three other victims stood together. The image was taken on the day of the murders. In the shot, Ms. Mogen is seen sitting on the shoulders of Ms. Goncalves as Mr. Chapin puts his arm around Ms. Kernodle. Ms. Mogen is also seen wearing a hoodie that says “Idaho.”

She made me such a proud big sister, and I wish I could have had more time with her, Jazzmin Kernodle said of her sister. “She was so positive, witty, and was liked by everyone who encountered her,” Jazzmin Kernodle said of her sister. She still had a lot of life ahead of her to live.”

She said that the three other victims had been wonderful friends to her sister, and that her sister had been “fortunate to have them in her life.” Her sister had been the “lucky one” to have them in her life.

Egann Willis, a former classmate of Mr. Chapin’s at Mount Vernon High School in Washington State, stated that Mr. Chapin had been a fantastic basketball player for the school team, the Bulldogs, and had graduated in 2021 before enrolling at the University of Idaho. Egann Willis was a classmate of Mr. Chapin’s in 2021.

Jonathan James
Jonathan James
I serve as a Senior Executive Journalist of The National Era
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