Steve Goncalves, father to University of Idaho murder victim Kaylee Goncalves, says the only peace he can find in the wake of his daughter’s death is that she died with her best friend.
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The student’s father, along with other victims’ families, spoke during a vigil hosted by the university on Wednesday night. Kaylee Goncalves, 21, along with university students Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21, were murdered in their beds on Nov. 13.
Each was stabbed in the chest and upper body with a large knife. Their deaths were ruled as homicides.
Goncalves said during the vigil that his daughter and Mogen had been best friends since middle school and that they did everything together.
“These girls were absolutely beautiful. They’ve been friends since sixth grade. … Every day, they did homework together, they came to our house together, they shared everything. … They went to high school together, then they started looking at colleges and they came here together; they eventually get into the same apartment together,” Goncalves said.
“And in the end, they died together, in the same room, in the same bed,” Goncalves said, per Fox News. “And it’s a shame, and it hurts. But the beauty of the two always being together is something that will — it comforts us. It lets us know that they were with their best friends in the whole world.”
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The three murdered women were friends and lived together. Chapin and Kernodle were in a relationship.
Chapin’s mother, Stacey, who also spoke at the vigil, said their family was “eternally grateful” for the time they spent with him.
“Time is precious, and it’s something we can’t get back,” Stacey Chapin said tearfully.
So far, no suspect has been identified or arrested, and no murder weapon has been found.
Originally, investigators stated that they believed the homicides to be an “isolated, targeted attack” by someone who had “specifically looked at this residence.” However, police clarified on Thursday that the assertion of the homicides being a targeted attack was a “miscommunication” with the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office.
“Detectives do not currently know if the residence or any occupants were specifically targeted but continue to investigate,” city officials said in a statement.
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Two other roommates who were staying in the basement were left unharmed, but they have been ruled out as suspects, as were two other friends who were present at the home at the time of the 911 call, according to police.
Moscow police continue to relay to the public that, while they understand the level of fear and questions surrounding the homicides, they are urging people to only listen to updates from police and to not rely on rumors circulating in the media.
