CNN
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Five days after four University of Idaho students were found stabbed in their off-campus home last weekend, a deep sense of apprehension and grief is affecting the community as authorities work to identify a suspect.
The university’s often-packed parking lots had many empty spots Thursday after scores of students decided to return home or leave the area after the quadruple homicide last weekend shocked the college town of Moscow, Idaho.
“Everybody kind of just went back home because they’re scared. … It’s definitely uneasy on campus right now,” student Nathan Tinno told CNN.
Tinno, who said the community is trying to approach the tragedy with sympathy, added that fact that no perpetuator has been caught in the case has elevated the sense of fear on campus.
Four college students – Ethan Chapin, 20; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Madison Mogen, 21 – were found stabbed to death Sunday in their shared off-campus home near the university.
Their causes of death has been determined a homicide, according to a statement by Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt. The autopsies are completed, and the findings will be released when available, an employee at the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office told CNN.
The killings, which happened little more than a week before Thanksgiving break, have instilled harrowing sentiments among students as authorities investigate leads to identify a suspect or locate a murder weapon.
“It’s so dark. It’s just like a dark cloud over everything,” Ava Driftmeyer said. “We’re leaving as fast as we can.”
Driftmeyer, who said she lives near where the four students were killed, described that it’s been a difficult situation to process, both mentally and emotionally.
“I just don’t even think it’s like set in yet. … You know how insane this is? And the fact that there’s no answers is like the worst feeling ever,” she said.
Police said Wednesday they could not definitively determine that the public was not a risk, backtracking an earlier statement that the attacks were targeted.
“We cannot say there’s no threat to the community,” Moscow Police Department Chief James Fry said Wednesday during a news conference. “And as we have stated, please stay vigilant, report any suspicious activity and be aware of your surroundings at all times.”
The university also reminded students that mental health support is available for them.
“We are all still working though our grief and a range of emotions. Compounding this is the frustration and concern that no one has been arrested for these crimes,” university president Scott Green said in a written statement.
“Students, you are encouraged to do what is right for you. Whether this is going home early or staying in class, you have our support,” Green added.
As many details remain unclear, one of the victim’s parents revealed his child’s struggle with the attacker.
The father of Xana Kernodle said he spoke with his daughter midnight Sunday, just hours before she was attacked and killed. Citing an autopsy, he said she fought off her attacker through the end.
“Bruises, torn by the knife. She’s a tough kid,” Jeffrey Kernodle told CNN affiliate KPHO/KTVK in Avondale, Arizona.
Kernodle said Xana stayed in regular communication with her family. “I think midnight was the last time we heard from her, and she was fine,” he told the station, adding that he doesn’t understand why his daughter and her roommates were killed in their own home.
“They were just hanging out at home. Xana was just hanging out at home with her boyfriend,” he said.
Just hours before the four students were killed, Goncalves had posted a photo of the group with the caption, “one lucky girl to be surrounded by these ppl everyday,” adding a heart emoji.
The scant information available regarding the case has been frustrating those closest to the victims as well as the campus community. Yet a video showing two of the victims has helped police get a clearer idea of the hours leading up to the homicides.
In a live Twitch stream from a food truck called Grub Truckers, Mogen and Goncalves were last seen alive while ordering $10 worth of carbonara around 1:40 a.m. local time Sunday in Moscow. As they waited for about 10 minutes for their food, they chatted with each other as well as other people standing by the truck.
Joseph Woodall, who manages the food truck, told CNN the two students did not seem to be in distress or in danger in any way.
Chapin and Kernodle were at a party on campus Saturday night, Fry said. All four students returned home early Sunday sometime after 1:45 a.m., Fry added.
Later Sunday morning, the four were killed inside their home, authorities said. Police responded to the residence after receiving a 911 call around noon reporting that someone was unconscious.
When police arrived at the home, they walked into a grisly, bloody crime scene.
“It was a pretty traumatic scene to find four dead college students in a residence,” coroner Mabbutt told CNN affiliate KXLY earlier this week.
All four were pronounced dead at noon, and police have not revealed who made the 911 call.
“They were smart, they were vigilant, they were careful and this all still happened,” Goncalves’ older sister, Alivea, said in a statement on behalf of the family to the Idaho Statesman.
“No one is in custody and that means no one is safe. Yes, we are all heartbroken. Yes, we are all grasping. But more strong than any of these feelings is anger. We are angry. You should be angry.”
Two other roommates were inside the home at the time of deaths – neither of then was injured nor held hostage, according to university president Green.
“There was other people home at that time, but we’re not just focusing just on them, we’re focusing on everybody that may be coming and going from that residence,” Fry said.
