University Of Idaho Murder Victims Had Hands Bagged To Preserve Evidence, Single Glove Found Outside Crime Scene
Idaho police reportedly bagged the hands of the four University of Idaho victims murdered last month in an effort to preserve crucial evidence, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The revelation comes more than four weeks after Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were found stabbed to death in their off-campus Moscow, Idaho residence on the morning of Sunday, November 13.
Although investigators have yet to name any suspects in the case, or recover the murder weapon used in the killings, newly emerged information indicates police bagged the hands of the four students to preserve any skin, hair or other DNA evidence under the victim’s fingernails that could link back to the quadruple murderer.
“DNA can be found in any kind of cellular material,” Idaho State Police Forensics Laboratory Systems Director Matthew Gamette explained to Fox News on Monday.
“We might be working a room or a car or something of that nature to be able to develop latent prints or fingerprints from a person that are visible to the naked eye,” Gamette continued. “And then we would be looking to either compare those to known individuals, or we would be looking to put them in a database to see if we can identify someone.”
Also surprising are the recent claims made by a retired police officer who allegedly found a single glove located outside the Moscow home where the quadruple murder took place – a potential clue police reportedly missed during their initial investigation of the crime scene.
- DNA Of Mystery Killer Or Killers On The Loose In University Of Idaho Quadruple Murder Could Be Found Under Victims' Fingernails: Sources
- Police Spotted Removing Items At University Of Idaho Quadruple Murder House As Suspect Remains On The Loose
- ‘Evidence Was Likely Obliterated’: Cops Accused Of Botched Investigation In University Of Idaho Quadruple Murder
“I actually found the glove,” said Chris McDonough, a retired homicide detective. “I pointed it out to the officer who was there securing the scene and they came and collected it.”
“The officer that was there, obviously, they didn't know about it because he came over and photographed it,” McDonough continued, revealing he found the glove weeks after the murders took place. “They came out and got it.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Moscow police have already faced backlash for their handling of the investigation, particularly because there have been no promising leads more than one month after the quadruple murder was committed.
Despite the growing backlash against the investigators in charge of the case, other criminal justice experts have praised the investigators for their decision to bag the victims’ hands to preserve potential evidence.
“This is good crime scene protocol, which also they can say that if they did this right, then more than likely everything else was done right, too — which should allay some of the concerns from people,” said Joseph Giacalone, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and also retired NYPD sergeant.
“When you have an up-close attack like this, the chances are good that the victim scraped at the face of the arms as they tried to defend themselves,” Giacalone added. “So this is an awesome development.”
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