Fox News Monday, 10:00 a.m.
And a timeline of the tragedy in Idaho
Hello all — a delay in today’s Ops Desk dispatch due to a newly directed focus on the (awful) quadruple homicide in Moscow, Idaho. I will be appearing on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom with Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer to discuss the case — please tune in to join us.
In the meantime, The Ops Desk gang has been working up a timeline of the events in the case, based on official sources and media interviews with family (see below).
It is the sort of thing a detective does at a case’s outset, to get a picture of what might have occurred.
The timeline is a work-in-progress (which will be updated on our website), but I am posting the current iteration below.
It is based, when at all possible, on primary sources.
Hope you enjoyed the weekend, and we’ll see you tomorrow.
Victims:
Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho
Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Wash.
Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Ariz. (source: NY Times )
Location:
1122 King Road, Moscow, ID
Timeline (developing):
Saturday, Nov. 12, 9:00 – 10:00 pm: Ethan and Xana, a couple, are at a nearby fraternity party. Ethan belongs to the fraternity.
Saturday, approximately 10:00 p.m. to Sunday, 1:40 a.m: Kaylee and Madison are at The Corner Club at 202 N. Main Street , Moscow (source: Moscow PD).
Sunday, 1:00 a.m: Victims’ housemates Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen, who had been out, return home. At some point later in the evening, they go to their own rooms (Moscow PD, Daily Mail)
1:40 a.m: Kaylee and Madison leave The Corner Club and are filmed at a local food truck (Moscow PD)
o Male seen lingering nearby in the video has been identified by police, is cooperating, and is not considered a suspect at this time (Moscow PD)
1:40 a.m: Kaylee and Madison get a ride home from a “private individual” (as per Moscow PD press conference of 11/20).
o As per Kaylee’s sister Alivia, this was “an Uber driver” whom she has since located and identified (source: Inside Edition interview)
Driver is not considered a suspect at this time (Moscow PD press release)
1:45 a.m.: Kaylee and Madison arrive home. Ethan and Xana have arrived home by this time or earlier. By this time all four victims are in the house.
2:36 – 2:52 a.m: Kaylee and Madison make 7 calls to “Jack.”
o Jack has been identified as Jack DeCouer, Kaylee’s longtime boyfriend, as per NY Times.
o DeCouer does not answer, reportedly sleeping through these calls (NY Times)
o Kaylee’s family is currently standing by Jack as a non-suspect
3:00 – 4:00 a.m: As per Coroner interview, killings occur. Killings occur on second and third floors (as per PD press conference, 11/20)
o All four victims were killed in their beds, while likely asleep (as per Coroner interview and Moscow PD)
o Xana had defensive wounds, as per her father; others may have had defensive wounds, as per PD press conference, 11/20)
Sunday a.m: Surviving housemates “summoned friends to the residence” because they believed that one of the victims had “passed out” (Moscow PD press release, 11/20)
11:58 a.m: Call to 911 of an “unconscious person” is made (Moscow PD press release). One of the housemates’ phones was used to make the call. However, unconfirmed if the call was actually made by one of the housemates.
o “Multiple people” spoke to the 911 operator from the residence on the call. (Moscow PD press release; PD press conference, 11/20)
o As per PD spokesman, there were “others” at the house besides the roommates (press conference, 11/20)
o As per Moscow PD, all in the house when police arrived are not considered suspects at this time
o Front door operates off of a key code at front door. There is a sliding rear door. There is also a sliding door off of one of the bedroom balconies. No signs of forced entry at any of these.
o As per Coroner and Medical Examiner: All four victims were stabbed to death by a large, military-style knife. No sexual assault found to have occurred (PD press conference, 11/20).
Investigative Gaps:
Who else arrived at the house Sunday morning? Are they fully cooperating?
Are the phones encrypted? Has full access been gained to all relevant phones?
Social media access gained?
Laptop/desktop dumps?
Email dump? University email dump?
Cell phone tower dumps/geofencing
Did the home have wifi? Pull the logs to see if anyone other than the residents had been on the WiFI overnight.
All physical evidence processed?
Have students living nearby or connected to the victims been observed for cut hands? Or wearing gloves to hide a cut? In most violent stabbings the perp will sustain cuts or at least bruising to the hands. This would be a telltale sign for a suspect.
Did Kaylee have a “stalker”? (As per Mark Fuhrman, retrieved here)
Kaylee Goncalves is from Rathdrum, Idaho; Madison Mogen is from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. These locations are listed as approximately 14 miles apart. Are there any possible leads back in this area? Were there any phones that hit a cell tower near their home and near the homicide scene in the same day?
Garbage covers done of the home and nearby areas to find a knife or bloody clothes?
Canvass for all video in area. The home is in a dead end with only one outlet for vehicles. Any house along the road may have captured a car.
Canvass of any/all traffic cameras and/or plate readers active in the area
Pulsing of criminal informants for any rumors
Development of new informants
Review of any similar killings on record?
Review of any/all previous police activity at the location or nearby.
Why kill all people who were up at 01:45 and leave the others? Perp may have been with all 4 and wanted to kill the target and any witnesses.
If there is a DNA profile or prints recovered it is important to remember that it needs to be matched to something. If the print or DNA is not on file in a criminal database, it goes nowhere.
But can serve as good confirmation of a suspect’s presence at the scene
Is there anything missing from the home? A jacket, a towel, personal item, etc?