By Erik Ortiz -
NBC News
The murder of four University of Idaho students in mid-November at an off-campus dormitory shocked the small community of Moscow, Idaho, where investigators clashed with what the city's police chief later described as a “very complex” case.
No suspects were immediately identified in the deaths of 21-year-old Madison Mogen;
Kaylee Goncalves, 21;
and Xana Kernodle, 20, as well as Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20.
The weapon, believed to be a large fixed-blade knife, was also not found.
The intense scrutiny of the unsolved murders led to the arrival of thousands of tips to the FBI.
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Now, nearly seven weeks later — with a community on edge and speculation about who committed the crime — police announced Friday the arrest in Pennsylvania of a criminal justice doctoral student.
“This is not the end of the investigation,” Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson said at the press conference announcing the capture.
"It's a new start".
This is a timeline of key moments in the case.
12th of November
At about 9:00 p.m., Kernodle and Chapin were seen at a party at Chapin's fraternity,
Sigma Chi
, near the King Road apartment house where they lived, according to investigators.
That night, Goncalves uploaded photos on her Instagram account with the description: "A lucky girl to be surrounded by these people every day."
Around 10 pm, Goncalves and Mogen went to the Corner Club, a sports bar in Moscow.
November 13
At about 1:30 a.m., Goncalves and Mogen are seen ordering from a food truck, according to a live feed from the business.
Investigators reported that Kernodle and Chapin returned to their three-story home on King Road at about 1:45 am, while Goncalves and Mogen drove to the home, arriving at about 1:56 am.
People attending a vigil for the four University of Idaho students who were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, cry as they listen to family members speak about the victims, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, in Moscow, IdahoAP.
Meanwhile, two other roommates, who were also out that night, arrived before the others at about 1:00 a.m., according to police.
At 11:58 a.m., 911 was called from the cell phone of one of them asking for help for "an unconscious person."
Two students were uninjured.
Police alerted the public to the deaths in a press release.
And despite the fact that no one was in custody, they said they believed "there was no risk to the community, based on information gathered during the preliminary investigation."
Nov. 16
With no suspects arrested, Moscow police retracted their earlier comments, saying there was no threat to the rural town of nearly 26,000 residents.
"We don't have a suspect yet: the individual is still out there," Moscow Police Chief James Fry told a news conference.
And he added that more than 25 investigators were assisting the case along with the state police and the FBI.
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November 17
Preliminary autopsy results showed that all four victims were most likely attacked with a large knife and died shortly after 2 a.m. from multiple injuries, said Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt. .
He described the injuries as "quite extensive".
November 18th
Police said the victims were likely asleep when they were slaughtered and some of them had injuries that showed they tried to defend themselves.
There were no signs of sexual assault.
Meanwhile, detectives combed through the contents of three nearby garbage cans for possible evidence, and contacted local businesses to determine if the knife had been recently purchased.
November 30
A vigil is held in honor of the victims, attended by some members of their families.
In this small town no one has been killed in seven years.
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"We are going to find justice," said Steven Goncalves, Kaylee's father, adding that his daughter and Mogen had been best friends since the sixth grade and that he had found out they were in the same bed when they were killed.
"They went to high school together, then they started looking for colleges, they both came here. Eventually they started living in the same apartment," Goncalves said.
"In the end, they also died together."
December 1st
Moscow police reaffirm that the quadruple homicide was part of a targeted attack, after authorities had suggested otherwise.
"We remain consistent in our belief that this was a targeted attack but have not concluded whether the target was the residence or its occupants," a police spokesman said.
The department continues to dispel rumors and speculation online, and reports that it has cleared certain individuals who interacted with Goncalves and Mogen the night they were killed.
Police say there are two roommates who were home during the attack and were sleeping.
December 2
The two roommates, Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen, revealed in letters that they were struggling to come to terms with why the lives of "four beautiful people" were taken in such a brutal way.
December 5th
The detectives focus on the activities of Chapin and Kernodle on the night they were murdered and ask the public for information about the nearly five hours that elapsed from the time they arrived at the King Road apartments from Sigma Chi's party.
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6th of December
Police say they recognize how frustrating a lack of news can be for families and the public, but insist they don't want to jeopardize the case.
"We're at a point in the investigation where we're still gathering information, we're still gathering evidence, gathering evidence, we're doing everything we can do," Fry said in a video posted online.
December 7th
The police begin to remove the victims' personal items from the building and return them to their relatives.
They also announce what appears to be a key part of the investigation: They say they are trying to speak to any of the occupants of a 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra with an unknown license plate.
They did not say whether they believed the driver had any contact with the killer, but said they believed the person had critical information to share.
December 15
Kristi Goncalves, Kaylee's mother, expresses frustration during an interview with NBC's Today show, sharing that she only found out about the police interest in the Hyundai Elentra when the rest of the public did: highlighting how some of the families of the victims felt "left in the dark".
December 21
Fry assures NBC News that his department is in daily contact with the families and asks them to be patient as the investigation progresses.
The police chief again insists that the investigation is not an unsolved case and insists: "Our ultimate goal is to bring someone to justice for those families and for those victims."
December 30
Police announce the arrest of one suspect: Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, a resident of Pullman, Washington, and a doctoral student at Washington State University.
He was arrested in northern Pennsylvania, about 2,500 miles from the Idaho campus, on four counts of attempted first-degree murder and robbery.
According to two law enforcement sources, DNA evidence played a key role in linking the killings to Kohberger.
At a news conference, Fry said he believes Kohberger is the only suspect.
"What I can tell you is that we have an individual in custody who committed these horrible crimes and I believe our community is safe."
