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A police car outside the home in Moscow, Idaho, where the four students were killed
Photo: Ted S Warren/AP
A suspect has been arrested in the case of four University of Idaho students who were stabbed to death in November.
The case shocked the small university town of Moscow with its 25,000 inhabitants and puzzled the police for weeks.
The suspect, a 28-year-old graduate student in criminal justice and criminology, was arrested in the state of Pennsylvania on suspicion of murder, police said.
He is to be extradited to the state of Idaho.
Prosecutors believe the student broke into the home of the four victims "with intent to commit murder."
The four victims, Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20, all knew each other.
According to autopsy findings, the four were probably asleep when they were attacked.
They had defensive wounds and were each killed with multiple stabs.
According to the police, there were no signs of sexual assault.
It is currently unclear whether the perpetrator and the victim knew each other.
Moscow Police Chief James Fry said at a press conference that his staff had received more than 19,000 tips from the public and conducted more than 300 interrogations as part of their investigation.
When asked if they were looking for other suspects, Fry said, "We have an individual in custody who committed these horrific crimes and I believe our community is safe."
Fry declined to provide a possible motive for the suspect or details of how police located the suspect at the Pennsylvania arrest site.
jso/AP/Reuters