The four students, three women and a man, were found dead on Nov. 13 in a rental house near campus.
The victims were housemates Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho; and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington.
On the night of the murders, Goncalves and Mogen were at a sports bar, and Chapin and Kernodle were seen at a fraternity party. Two roommates were at the home when police were called to the residence around noon the next day, though investigators do not believe they were involved in the deaths.
More than 260 digital submissions, which could include photos and videos, have been submitted by the public to an FBI tip form, the Moscow Police Department said in a release Friday. The department is asking for any tips or video footage of the places the victims went that night, even if there is no discernible movement or content in them.
Investigators believe all four victims had returned to the home by 2 a.m. the night of the stabbings. Two surviving roommates had also gone out in Moscow that night, police said, and returned to the house by 1 a.m.
Police earlier said Goncalves and Mogen returned to the home by 1:45 a.m., but they updated the timeline Friday, saying digital evidence showed the pair returned at 1:56 a.m. after visiting a food truck and being driven home by a “private party.”
The next morning, the surviving roommates “summoned friends to the residence because they believed one of the second-floor victims had passed out and was not waking up,” police said in a release. Somebody called 911 from the house at 11:58 a.m. using one of the surviving roommates’ phones.
“The call reported an unconscious person,” Moscow Police Capt. Roger Lanier said Wednesday. “During that call the dispatcher spoke to multiple people who were on scene.”
When police arrived, they found two victims on the second floor and two victims on the third floor. There was no sign of forced entry or damage, police said.
A coroner determined the four victims were each stabbed multiple times and were likely asleep when the attacks began. Some of the students had defensive wounds, according to the Latah County Coroner.
Many University of Idaho students are returning to campus after fall break as police continue to search for a suspect.
Local police and federal agents continue to follow leads, but said they have ruled out any connection to two other stabbings in the Pacific Northwest.
Police warned against speculation that has stoked community fears and spread false facts. As of Friday, 113 pieces of physical evidence have been collected and sent to the Idaho State Police crime lab for processing and analysis.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little has directed up to $1 million in state emergency funds for the ongoing investigation, police said.
Police believe the attack was targeted. Authorities said they have not ruled out the possibility that more than one person may be involved in the killings.
The University of Idaho is hosting candlelight vigils on November 30 at 5 p.m. to honor the memory of the four students. One will be held on the Moscow campus and another at the University of Boise.
