Idaho University Murders: Metal Detectors & Security Added At Vigil As Thousands Gather To Remember Victims
Thousands gathered for the vigil of the four University of Idaho students who were stabbed to death in their sleep more than two weeks ago, and the dean added extra security measures to ensure everyone's safety as no suspect (or suspects) have been identified in the slaughter, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Best friends Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, both 21, as well as Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, were killed with a Rambo-style knife on the second and third stories of an off-campus home in the early hours of November 13 while roommates Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen slept on the first floor.
Despite terror ringing out in the small college town of Moscow due to a killer being on the loose, traumatized students of the university — who went back to school for the first time after the slayings this week — came together to pay their respects to the deceased on Wednesday evening.
The vigil went down at ASUI-Kibbie Activity Center, with the dean of students, Blaine Eckles, taking extra precautions to ensure the attendees' safety.
Metal detectors and additional security were put in place, RadarOnline.com discovered. Students were only allowed to bring in clear bags to make concealing possible weapons impossible.
“There are metal detectors that we’re going to have, security will obviously be present,” Eckles told NewsNation about the vigil. “We have a clear bag policy, too.”
Members of the victims' families spoke at the vigil, remembering their loved ones.
Kaylee's dad, Steve, addressed his daughter and Madison's tight-knit friendship. The duo became best friends in sixth grade.
"Then they started looking at colleges and came here together … and in the end they died together, in the same room and in the same bed," he said.
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Ethan's mom, Stacy, recalled how happy she was to enroll her son, who was a triplet, at the university with his siblings.
"Our triplets enrolled here together because of the small-town feel, the beautiful campus, and the Greek system," she told the crowd. The four victims were members of fraternities and sororities at the university.
At one point during the vigil, attendees held up cell phone lights to remember the slain students.
No arrests have been made, and no suspects have been named — however, a spokesperson for the Idaho State Police revealed they have received forensic testing results.
“I do know that each type of testing… some take longer than others. And I also do know that there have been results that have been returned and those go directly to the investigators, so that way they can help, again, paint that picture as we keep talking about,” the spokesperson said, refusing to reveal who the DNA belonged to.
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