Idaho murders press conference highlights

University of Idaho and Moscow Police team up to provide updates to a concerned community about the shocking murders of four students

On Wednesday, November 23, the Moscow, Idaho police department streamed a live press conference with assistance from the University of Idaho, providing the media and general public with an update on their investigation into the mysterious murders of four students last Sunday in the off-campus house they shared.

The press conference opened with a statement from Moscow PD Chief James Fry who has been leading the investigation. He thanks everyone who has come forward with tips and information that might help solve the case, and implores the public to continue to come forward with anything that might be significant, no matter how big or small.

Fry introduces Moscow PD captain Roger Lanier who reconstructs the timeline, which has already been made public. He lists potential suspects the department no longer considers persons of interest, including the two surviving roommates, the food truck guy, the private party that drove Kaylee and Madison home, the 911 callers, or Jack, the friend Kaylee and Madison called in those early morning hours. He says that investigators are pouring over video surveillance footage and requesting more to try and find something remarkable that might help them put the case together, at which time he introduces a map posted on the departments website highlighting the geographic areas of interest, the idea being that if they can acquire enough footage from that particular area, they may find a clue to who committed the crime.

He also acknowledges the online rumors about the victims being bound and gagged, and says they are inaccurate. He highlights the resources on the case: Moscow PD has 4 detectives, 24 patrol officers and 5 support staff, the FBI has 22 investigators in Moscow, and 20 additional agents in various location and 2 members of the behavioral analysis unit. Idaho state police has 20 investigators, public info team, forensic services and crime scene team, and 15 uniformed troopers.

Next, Col Kedrick Wills of the Idaho State Police takes the stage, and discusses how the scene is being processed and what investigators are doing to try and generate evidence. They are testing for blood, latent print processing, and anything that will help them recreate the scene at a later date. They collected 103 pieces of evidence, took approximately 4000 photos, conducted multiple 3d scans of the residence, and processed over 1000 tips and conducted over 150 interviews.

University of Idaho President Scott Green makes a prepared statement about how the school is is supporting students and families of the victims.

Next, Tyler Palmer, Deputy City Supervisor of Moscow, gives an emotional speech about the victims and how the city is committed to doing everything in its power to solve the case and bring justice to the victims.

The last part of the conference is a Q&A between the media and the law enforcement professionals. It’s a lot of Chief Fry defending his team and the investigation. They remain tight lipped, and this is understandable, as releasing any information that may help them solve the case prematurely could have devastating effects on the investigation.

So essentially, not much new information to report, which should only continue to build intrigue and should certainly keep the web sleuths busy over the Thanksgiving holiday.