Idaho students
Idaho police investigating the Nov. 13 stabbing deaths of four sleeping University of Idaho students are under fire for "grave contradictions," suggesting the killer was sloppy but failing to produce a suspect.

Now, there are emerging fears the killer or killers might have fled the country and could get away with mass murder.

The Moscow Police Department in Idaho told the parents of one victim that "a mess of evidence" was left behind in the "sloppy" slaying of four students while they were sleeping.

"If the killer was apparently so sloppy, why haven't cops found him?" a source told RadarOnline, expressing frustration in the slow investigation that is feared to be getting further away from being anyone to justice.

Another source told RadarOnline the suspect(s) might be too far gone from being caught now.

"In criminal investigations, it is widely known that if authorities do not have a lead, a suspect, or an arrest within the first 48 hours, their chances of solving the case are cut in half," the source said. "Those initial critical hours are a race against time to solve the case. In Idaho, we know cops failed to protect the crime scene and protect the credibility of the investigation.

"If this was a targeted killing, and the perpetrator or perpetrators are not serial killers, their natural behavior would have been to flee the area. This mean they could be in another state, or worse, another country, by now."

Despite the reports of a "mess" of evidence, the local investigators have been accused of having "botched" the case, according to the report, including:
  • Failing to collect the trash, allowing it to be mixed with trash of other local homes.
  • Failing to interview the food truck owner where two victims were last seen.
  • Not measuring the tire tracks at the crime scene for six days after the victims were discovered.
  • Failing to search nearby woodlands around the house until Nov. 22.
"The reality is this evidence was likely obliterated and if the cops had done things correct," the source said. "Those tire marks would have been photographed, measured, and preserved, on the day when the victims were found.

"The time that elapsed between when the bodies were found and forensics team returned to the crime scene allowed crucial evidence to be corrupted, by weather or other activity.

"With no suspect, no murder weapon and little to no leads, you have to ask the question: Did police botch the investigation from the get-go?"

A reportedly unrelated horrifying finding of a 12-year-old dog skinned to death head to toe just 3 miles from the crime scene adds to further mystery.

"You have to ask yourself: How common is it for a dog to be skinned to death by a knife — just 3 miles from a scene where people were hacked to death just a few weeks earlier?" an informant told RadarOnline.

"To me, this is a multiple alarm fire."

Psychopathology has long noted harm to animals can be a precursor to murderous behavior.

"I can understand the local cops don't want to spread fear among a local community already on edge, especially considering no suspect, no motive or no murder weapon have been identified, but to convincingly rule it out seems a very interesting and somewhat rash decision," the insider continued. "It's been long established that individuals who have the capability of killing four people in this manner start their killings on animals.

"This is a red flag, and it shows murderous traits. These are serial killer tendencies. Police owe it to the community to explain how they can unequivocally dispel a link between these two instances."

The weapon is believed to be a combat knife, like the one from Sylvester Stallone's "Rambo" character, perhaps sourced from the University of Idaho ROTC program, law enforcement told RadarOnline.

"Police believe a Ka-Bar-style knife was used in the murders, and they've already ruled out that type of weapon was for sale at a local store," a case insider told the website. "This is a very unique style of a knife which is about six inches long.

"Clearly investigators want to know if the University of Idaho's Reserve Officers' Training Corps program had any Ka-Bar knives in its archive or on display. They are proving whether the weapon could have been swiped by the killer or killers to commit the crimes."

The victims were Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho. The women were roommates, and Chapin was dating Kernodle. All four victims were members of fraternities and sororities.

Also, two other roommates were in the home at the time of the killings. Heavy.com reported them to be Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, adding police have not considered them suspects.

"We know that people want answers — we want answers, too," Idaho State Police Col. Kedrick Wills said. "Please be patient as we work through this investigation. We owe this to these young kids. To these young adults. We owe it to them. And we're absolutely dedicated to make sure that that happens."

Moscow Police Chief James Fry said authorities have received nearly 650 tips and conducted 90 interviews. Police have also requested businesses and residences in specific parts of the city to share with them footage recorded between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. on the day of the killings.

"It's a complex and terrible crime," Fry said, "and it will take some time to resolve."

University President Scott Green said instructors have been told to prepare for a possible hybrid teaching system that includes in-person and remote learning for students not comfortable returning to the campus after the fall recess, which includes Thanksgiving, ends after this week.

"While we certainly hope there's a swift closure with the arrest of whoever is responsible for this crime, we must also be prepared for all the possibilities, including a lengthy investigation," Green said.

Authorities on Sunday said they were each stabbed multiple times, and that some had defensive wounds.

Police said Chapin and Kernodle were at Sigma Chi house on the University of Idaho camps and returned home around 1:45 a.m. on Nov. 13. Police said Mogen and Goncalves were at a bar called The Corner Club in downtown Moscow, left the bar and stopped at a food truck, and then also returned home at about 1:45 a.m.

Mogen and Goncalves also made multiple calls to a male who police haven't identified. Fry on Sunday said police believe those calls have no connection with the killings.

Another person wearing a hooded sweatshirt and seen in a video at the food truck near Mogen and Goncalves shortly before they returned home is also not involved in the crime, police said. Additionally, police said, a private driver who gave Mogen and Goncalves a ride home was not involved in the crime.

Police said two other roommates who were in the house on the night of the killings had returned home at about 1 a.m. and slept through the attack, waking later that day. Police said one of their phones was used to call 911 from inside the residence at 11:58 a.m. Police on Sunday declined to say who made the 911 call, but did say additional visitors had come to the house that morning.

Police have said the two roommates were not involved in the killings.

Police said the victims were found on the second and third floors of the six-bedroom home, but declined on Sunday to say specifically on which floor the individual victims were found.

Police have said evidence leads them to believe the students were targeted, though they haven't given details and declined to do so again on Sunday. Investigators say nothing appears to have been stolen from the victims or the home. Police have said there was no sign of forced entry, and first responders found a door open when they arrived.

The Moscow Police Department said four detectives, five support staff and 24 patrol officers are working on the case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has 22 investigators helping in Moscow, and 20 more agents assisting from outside the area. The Idaho State Police has supplied 20 investigators, 15 troopers for patrols, and its mobile crime scene team.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.