Sorority sister of brutally murdered University of Idaho victims say their final hours were 'eerily normal and spent with friends' before they 'fought for their lives' in targeted stabbing attack in their own home

  • Madison Mogen, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, had been members of the Idaho chapter of Pi Beta Phi with fellow University student Madison Moye, 21
  • Moye said she had last seen Mogen 'laughing with friends' at the popular University hangout, Moscow, Idaho's Corner Club
  • Mogen and Kernodle had dropped out of the sorority last semester, but were still remembered on the group's Instagram this week
  • As students return to campus from Thanksgiving break, Moye said she would be changing her habits and plans to carry pepper spray
  • Despite an extensive and lengthy investigation, spanning 16 days, families of the victims have accused police of withholding details in an effort to catch the killer
  • Suspects of the investigation are yet to be revealed as police continue their investigation into the gruesome quadruple murder 

The sorority sister of two of the victims of the quadruple University of Idaho murder says their final hours appeared to be 'eerily normal and spent with friends.' 

Kaylee, 21, her best friend Madison Mogen, also 21, and young couple Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, both 20, were all found stabbed to death in their off-campus rental house in Moscow, Idaho on the morning of November 13.

Madison Moye, 21, who had been part of the Idaho chapter of Pi Beta Phi, along with Mogen and Kernodle said the last time she saw Mogen, who police said spent the night out with Goncalves, was at a popular University venue, Idaho's Corner Club.

Moye said to Fox News that she had been spotted 'just laughing with all her friends' and added that 'it was just a normal night in Moscow.'

'Moscow is a safe place. Nothing like this ever happens. I didn't think anything of it.'

Moye said Mogen was at the club, for 'the majority of the night.'

According to police, Mogen and Goncalves left the bar around 1.30 am and went to a nearby food truck before returning to their King Road home at 1.56 am on Sunday.

Moye said she had been to the home 'every so often' before it turned into a crime scene, for events or when the girls would 'hang out' and said their deaths had been 'really tough.'

'The Vandal community is really close, and it's kind of just put a darkness over it,' she said.

Madison Mogen (right), 21, and Xana Kernodle (left), 20, had been members of the Idaho chapter of Pi Beta Phi with fellow University student Madison Moye, 21

Madison Mogen (right), 21, and Xana Kernodle (left), 20, had been members of the Idaho chapter of Pi Beta Phi with fellow University student Madison Moye, 21

Moye (pictured) said the last time she saw Mogen, who police said spent the night out with Goncalves, was at a popular University hotspot, Moscow, Idaho's Corner Club

Moye (pictured) said the last time she saw Mogen, who police said spent the night out with Goncalves, was at a popular University hotspot, Moscow, Idaho's Corner Club

As students return to campus from Thanksgiving break, Moye (back, third to the right) said she would be changing her habits and plans to carry pepper spray

As students return to campus from Thanksgiving break, Moye (back, third to the right) said she would be changing her habits and plans to carry pepper spray

She told Fox News Mogen and Kernodle had dropped out of the sorority last semester, and therefore she had seen them less frequently in recent months.

The University of Idaho's Pi Beta Phi chapter posted a photo of the girls on Instagram last week, with a caption that called Mogen and Kernodle 'bright young women who had incredible futures ahead of them.'

'Maddie was the sweetest soul, who was passionate about every aspect of her life. She shared her brilliance with those around her,' the post stated.

'Xana was a magnet for positive energy and always radiated that energy back into the world.

'We know others in our community are also hurting; we grieve with them and share the weight of their sorrow.'

Moye lives in a home behind the crime scene. She said she did not go to the home on the morning of November 13, when police said officers arrived to find multiple people already inside.

When asked about the possibility that the killer might have passed through her yard, she responded, 'It's definitely something that's crossed my mind and that's really terrifying.'

She said she and many of her classmates typically walked to campus for class, and that she has often used a shortcut that passes through the parking lot behind the victims' home.

Kaylee Goncalves was best friends with Madison Mogen, both 21, before the two went off to the University of Idaho together
Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle, both 20, were in a relationship

Kaylee, 21, her best friend Madison Mogen, 21, (pictured left) and young couple Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin (pictured right), both 20, were all found stabbed to death in their off-campus rental house in Moscow, Idaho on the morning of November 13 

Dylan Mortensen (left) and Bethany Funke (middle) lived in the modest Moscow rental house with fellow University of Idaho students Kernodle (second from left) Goncalves (second from right) and Mogen (right)  but survived the attack. They have been ruled out as suspects

Dylan Mortensen (left) and Bethany Funke (middle) lived in the modest Moscow rental house with fellow University of Idaho students Kernodle (second from left) Goncalves (second from right) and Mogen (right)  but survived the attack. They have been ruled out as suspects

As students returned to campus and classes on Monday, Moye said she is changing her habits and plans to carry pepper spray.

The perimeter of the home remains lined by crime scene tape more than two weeks after the victims were found and their murderer remains at large.

Officials have called the attack 'targeted,' but have not said who was the intended victim.

Police said Sunday they had received more than 488 'digital media submissions' via the FBI portal.

Idaho State Police Colonel Kedrick Wills said investigators had collected 103 pieces of evidence from the crime scene and have taken an estimated 4,000 photos thus far.

He added that investigators had processed 'over a thousand tips and conducted 150 interviews.'

Despite the extensive and lengthy investigation now spanning 16 days, families of the victims have accused police of withholding details in an effort to catch the killer.

They say that they are not releasing a profile of the suspect because it could lead to more fear and suspicion in the college town, which is already on edge following the gruesome murders, with some students refusing to return to classes.

'It will potentially put more fear, more suspicion on a wide variety of people versus if we use that to really refine where we're at in our investigation,' Idaho State Police communications director Aaron Snell told Jones.

'I think that will be more pertinent.'

'And so if we just provide information to the public, I just don't think that that's going to be a wise choice.'

Mogen and Goncalves had spent much of the night before her death at the Corner Club.

Goncalves and Mogen were found on the top floor in their beds. College lovers Chapin and Kernodle were found in a second floor bedroom while survivors Mortensen and Funke were sleeping on the first floor

Goncalves and Mogen were found on the top floor in their beds. College lovers Chapin and Kernodle were found in a second floor bedroom while survivors Mortensen and Funke were sleeping on the first floor

Despite an extensive and lengthy investigation, spanning 16 days, families of the victims have accused police of withholding details in an effort to catch the killer. With no suspects revealed at this time

Despite an extensive and lengthy investigation, spanning 16 days, families of the victims have accused police of withholding details in an effort to catch the killer. With no suspects revealed at this time  

At approximately 1.30am, the pair were caught on camera purchasing a portion of carbonara pasta from Grub Wandering Kitchen – a food truck that offers late night eats on weekends.

Parked up close to the Moscow branch of insurers State Farm and outdoor store Hyperspud Sports, Madison and Kaylee were last glimpsed walking away towards what police have called 'a private party driver' for their final ride home.

The route, seen in exclusive Dailymail.com video, takes less than five minutes to complete and cuts through the University of Idaho campus and passes the Sigma Chi house on the right where Xana and Ethan spent their last night before taking a left-up King Road towards their home.

Poignantly, the drive also goes past the Moscow Police Department headquarters which can be seen on the left just as the route turns right onto the campus.

According to police, the pair arrived home at 1.45am – at the same time as Ethan and Xana and 45 minutes after their other roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, 19, who both miraculously survived the attack.

Less than two hours later, Madison, Kaylee, Xana and Ethan were dead – butchered as they slept by a knife-wielding villain.

Autopsy results showed all four died from stab wounds to the chest, with police saying the murder weapon was a large military-style knife which still hasn't been found.

Officials have insisted over the past month that the quadruple stabbing was a 'targeted' attack, with Idaho State Police spokesman Aaron Snell, 49, telling Dailymail.com in an exclusive interview that all four of the victims could have been the intended targets.

He confirmed investigators have gathered enough evidence to suggest the killings were targeted, but admitted they are still no closer to identifying the murderer.

'We still believe it was a targeted attack based on the evidence at the scene and how everything developed, what we know. We believe that's accurate,' he said.

Still, Snell refused to say which of the victim's police believe to be the target, describing it as a 'delicate question'.

Police can be seen pictured here searching for evidence through trash at a local refuse center. They now say police have mostly finished investigating the crime scene

Police are pictured here searching for evidence through trash at a local refuse center. They now say police have mostly finished investigating the crime scene

The first floor where the surviving roommates were sleeping sits below grade and opens onto a gravel parking lot in the front of the building (pictured) 

Officials have insisted over the past month that the quadruple stabbing was a 'targeted' attack

Officials have insisted over the past month that the quadruple stabbing was a 'targeted' attack

He said: 'That's part of the ongoing investigation. That's a real delicate question and when we're able to say that or if we're able to say that we'll definitely do that.

'It's very similar to the whole stalking, right. Potentially if there was a stalker, that would be somebody of extreme interest.

'You can't lay all your cards out at once. We're trying to find the various potential participants.'

He then admitted that there is a threat to the community, despite Moscow police originally assuring the public there was no threat to the close-knit college town.

'Is there somebody out there? Yes,' Snell told Dailymail.com.

'Our goal is to find that person and bring them to justice.'

He said police have now mostly finished investigating the crime scene and revealed that plans to release the scene are underway — but noted that it won't be released until cops are sure there is nothing left to retrieve.

In the meantime, most of the police work is now being done behind the scenes — with crime lab testing and reports.

'Investigations are very difficult. Potentially, it could go for quite a while. But if we have some leads that lead us to a potential suspect and quickly… We don't try and estimate or speculate on the length of the investigation,' he told Dailymail.com.

'Obviously, our goal would have been to solve this last week, so we don't have a timeline.

We are receiving a lot of quality tips and have done over 150 interviews so all the information that has been received is building that whole picture.

Students have started to return to the University of Idaho, where a memorial has been set up for the college students following a Thanksgiving break

Students have started to return to the University of Idaho, where a memorial has been set up for the college students following a Thanksgiving break

'Since we don't have a suspect at this time and we don't have a weapon, it's difficult to find out what happened.

'So, what we have to do is try and build this picture of what occurred on that night, the relationships the four of them had – was there anything suspicious in those, are there any tidbits of information we can draw from that.

'Did anything occur in the evening of that night, was there anything out of the ordinary that occurred to them? And the movements of the residents themselves.'

But despite the difficulties, Snell said he is confident police will eventually unravel the mystery of what happened – and bring the killer to justice.

He said: 'We have not identified anybody who was involved in this so we for sure do not want to say we think they came through whatever door and did this because once we do that, we start going down a rabbit hole and then all these ancillary facts that might point to something else – then maybe we would miss those.

'[Investigators] truly are doing a phenomenal job – all the debriefs and stuff we do upstairs, they really are talking about this entire picture.

'They're trying not to get pigeonholed into all these various theories and motives because we're not entirely sure what they are right now.

'Once they get that picture, I think we're going to see something.'

He added: 'On TV, it's an hour long and you have a solution. In a criminal investigation, providing information is delicate. If we provide it then potentially, we could ruin the investigation and the prosecution that we hope to have.

'That is the ultimate goal – bring justice through prosecution.'

Meanwhile, students have started returning to campus from a Thanksgiving break and remain on edge as questions remain unanswered.

The school has now announced it has increased security for the rest of the semester, as some students plan to stay home or take more classes online.

A candlelight vigil will also be held for the slain students on Wednesday in locations throughout the state.

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.