ID - 4 University of Idaho Students Murdered - Moscow # 8

[debirlfan]

The above is why I do not support the theory that Ethan was lying dead in the middle of the second floor or even in the bedroom doorway. You cannot correlate 'passed out' with stabbed to death. Even if he was face down he would still be bleeding. And LE stated all victims were in bed. I believe the bedroom door was locked and someone was worried that he was unconsciousness due to not responding to calls or knocks. Moo

This precisely. It would also explain calling friends first. Especially if the friends were people that the 'unconscious' roommates were partying with the night before. It might be a case of the roommates calling to ask: "We can't wake them up. How drunk were they?"

 

[KingJames]

Maybe the girls came back with perp and the couple got home at the same time around 1:45am. The couple saw the killer or could identify him. The girls go upstairs with the perp to hangout. The couple goes to bed. The perp starts acting strange, so one of the girls calls ex boyfriend ( from 2 different phones) in panic or to get help. Girls get killed. Perp has to kill couple because he can be identified, so kills them in sleep. Other roommates never saw the perp so he does not bother with them. Drug tox will be interesting and insightful. That’s my guess.

Someone dropped off the two girls and the person that dropped them off was interviewed by the police. Though it's possible someone might have joined them after.

 

[otto]

Golden doodle

It is. <modsnip> I think it's quite possible the golden doodle was crate trained, and in its crate while the roommates were at the pub. There's no reason to wake up a sleeping dog at 2 AM.

 

[William Goat]

I’m sure I can’t be the first to bring this up, but what do we all think about the search for the killer based on his method of travel? What if everyone’s looking for cars in their ring camera footage, but they should be looking for a bicycle.

If the Sept 12th incident is related, that man was riding a mountain bike. My boyfriend (former CID agent) explained that bikes are known as the best mode of travel to get away with a crime. They’re difficult to describe and have no license plates. They can also move fast in areas inaccessible to vehicles. Most people don’t pay attention to bicyclists.

Could that also be why they are also investigating the area behind the house?

I believe LE said they wanted all video or stills from anyone in that area whether they see something in it themselves or not. I never heard anyone say anything about vehicles specifically.

 

[isabella88]

In my opinion they have to mark it off further. Lets say the killer hypothetically dropped his ID card and it is now found. Who cares if the scene is contaminated in a legal sense. They would have a lead to connect other dots to.

Contamination has led to guilty people going free. It's a big deal.

 

[AngTxGal]

It's uncertain which bedroom was occupied by Xana (and her visiting boyfriend), but it's possible that she was in the back bedroom - which appears to be larger, and might be quieter. It's also possible that they were in the vacant bedroom. We don't know.

The blue line is a possible route that Ethan took if he heard something and got up. All the tenants were at home and in bed around 3 AM, so who would be entering the property? It also provides some insight into how the roommates might have seen one of the victims through an open door after they got up around noon.

In Presser Nov 20 it is said surviving roommate “sees a roommate” who is non responsive.
So if it was E, would they say saw a ‘roommate’? Or did they mean a female?
JMO

 

[Astro71]

I really really really really hope that if a person walked into their home and found their roomates dead, that their first reaction would not be to call friends. Obligatory just my opinion

My understanding is they called Ethan’s brother. That’s what his parents said.

 

[Wsimm]

This jacket is huge all over, not the oversized look we see around here on the girls. Chilling video shows Idaho students at HOURS before they were killed

It’s funny how each of us view things. I never noticed the oversized aspect to the black jacket until it was 1st discussed threads before. My first thought was wondering if K was into snowboarding? It looked like an oversized parka that you would see on the slopes on a wet day. Perfect coat for dressing in layers.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

In my opinion they have to mark it off further. Lets say the killer hypothetically dropped his ID card and it is now found. Who cares if the scene is contaminated in a legal sense. They would have a lead to connect other dots to.

What's to stop the killer from saying "wait a sec, I dropped that AFTER the murders when I was taking a walk"? Evidence found now will be hard to prove.

MOO.

 

[PolarButterflie]

Thank you Otto! So the woods in the back, is there also another parking lot there? (Town? Public?j or just one parking lot in the front? (I’m hopeless with directions, sorry.)

The parking lot behind the house appears to be an extension of the parking lot for the apartments next to the house. I have attached a screen shot from google maps (1122 is where the murders took place):

 

[isabella88]

Contaminated evidence is a legal term. It does not mean they can't still find something to break the case and gain a conviction.

I'm not going to argue further about why contaminated evidence can hurt a case.

 

[Curiosa20]

Why and how are some ruled out so quickly?
Why FBI profiling is especially critical in this investigation and why it is more likely to be lengthy.
Previously posted on earlier thread today and may answer some questions …. Great interview with Retired FBI Special Agent Steve Moore. No rehashing.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1594594101936414721

 

[FruitTingles]

Thanks! Let's put the questions about Kaylee's dog to bed already. Relieving to hear that the other dog case is considered unrelated. Glad they are trying to contain rumors, at least.

I’m quite impressed with MPD and their commitment to keeping the public updated as much as possible and addressing all social media rumours so far as they circulate, they try to nip them in the bud to keep the focus on the facts we do know. It is impressive! JMO

 

[CedarRain]

I wondered too if the killer might be on other transport e.g. Greyhound and on foot (it was mentioned somewhere that there's a Greyhound station in the town) but then somebody pointed out that the killer would be covered in blood after the murder so unlikely to be using a bus. I think the blood would be similarly visible on a bicycle, or at least less well-hidden than if the killer were in a car. otoh more likely to be on a bike than on a bus.

But the next thing of note (if the Sept 12th incident is related) blood isn’t easily spotted on all black clothing, especially at night. On 9/12 the man was in all black.

There’s also a theory that the killer cleaned themselves up in the upstairs bathroom, leaving no blood trail leaving the home Or through the home.

 

[Angelcat13]

Lots of speculation that the roommate didn’t actually “see” an unconscious (dead) victim. Door could have been locked by the killer, or perhaps she just tried to get a response by calling and texting and yelling and could hear the phone ringing in the bedroom upstairs but did not get any response. they Roommate may have then decided to call for someone to help “rouse” the individual and that person decided that it was something to call 911 about.
All I do know is that nothing, not the people, not the time of the call, not the circumstances of what we know and don’t know have anything at all to do with the actual murder. They have all been explicitly cleared by LE. Fini. And everyone is fixated on this, when it boils down to a bunch of bird brained children running around trying to make sense of something that is entirely not normal. And everyone is fixated on carrying on and trying to explain something and an event that is entirely inexplicable.

I agree that they were “trying to make sense of something that is entirely not normal”. When we see something, our brain will initially process it using things that are known to us, something we have experience with - especially within the certain context of the situation/location. When your brain can’t make sense of it, confusion and panic creep in while your brain struggles to process what is going on. This could happen in an instant or take longer - depending on so many different factors.

No one ever expects to find such a horrific scene - especially within their own home where they previously felt safe. I can imagine that their first thought may have been someone fell and was injured - certainly not the slaughter that actually occurred.

 

[isabella88]

In Presser Nov 20 it is said surviving roommate “sees a roommate” who is non responsive.
So if it was E, would they say saw a ‘roommate’? Or did they mean a female?
JMO

I didn't hear that they "saw a roommate". That is very interesting. Do you have a snip of that?

 

[isabella88]

My understanding is they called Ethan’s brother. That’s what his parents said.

That poor kid.

 

[positive]

Contamination has led to guilty people going free. It's a big deal.

I understand that. It has to be entered as evidence for thay to happen. Investigators can find clues to lead them in a direction to solve the case without the prosecution entering the clue as evidence.

 

[hopewell]

Or he just knows who skinned the dog and they have an alibi for when this crime occurred

If he knew who skinned the dog, so would the owners of said dog.

 

[AngTxGal]

In my opinion they have to mark it off further. Lets say the killer hypothetically dropped his ID card and it is now found. Who cares if the scene is contaminated in a legal sense. They would have a lead to connect other dots to.

A contaminated scene is how defense attorneys get a jury to think Reasonable Doubt. If there is a possibility someone else did it, then a person cannot be convicted.
How do investigators know what evidence is where until they investigate? They have no idea what they will find until it is found.
Assuming accident or suicide and it turns out not to be is a problem.
Assuming it is one perp and it turns out not to be is a problem.
Any evidence of what really happened could be gone- because it was assumed not to be present.
So all deaths should be assumed to be murder, and all persons nearby should be assumed to be POI until evidence shows otherwise. This is the only way evidence can be preserved. You can’t preserve evidence if you don’t know it is there, you don’t know it is there until you investigate.

Now we are 7 days into an investigation and 3 dumpsters have been seized and searched likely for clothing and a weapon. Hmmm, a lot can happen over 7 days. Why were they not searched on day 1 or two? If you wait 7 days at my house the trash has gone out twice.

Just my humble opinion