University of Idaho stab murder rumors denied by cops

The stabbing murders of four University of Idaho students have not been solved, but investigators are confident that a few things did not happen.

Moscow, Idaho, police refuted several internet rumors in a press release.

“There is speculation, without factual backing, stoking community fears and spreading false facts,” cops wrote in the statement posted Friday.

Housemates Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and student Ethan Chapin, 20, were found dead on Nov. 13 inside the residence the women shared. No suspects have been identified or arrested. The murder weapon, believed to be a knife, has not been found.

“Online reports of the victims being tied and gagged are not accurate,” police said.

Cops also said there was no connection to a 1999 stabbing in nearby Pullman, Wash., or a 2021 stabbing in Salem, Ore. A Sept. 12, 2022, incident in which someone flashed a knife on a university bike path also is not related, police said.

Investigators also ruled out several suspects in the case: two people who slept in the house on the deadly night but were not killed, a driver who took Mogen and Goncalves home that night and Goncalves’ ex-boyfriend, Jack DuCoeur, who she called several times before she was killed.

“We remain consistent in our belief that this was a targeted attack, but investigators have not concluded if the target was the residence or if it was the occupants,” police said Friday.

Officers towed five vehicles, including some belonging to the victims, away from the house earlier this week.