WASHINGTON (TND) — The captain of the Moscow Police Department wants to make it clear that the murder case of four University of Idaho students is not cold.
So far, no arrests have been made, but Capt. Roger Lanier said the investigation of who violently attacked the students is active and ongoing.
"For sure, some of them are not good tips -- they're not even relevant to the case -- but every single day, we get a good amount of viable tips and those tips help us do everything from clear people who maybe there was some speculation about, to further some of the theories that we're working on," he added.
The footage also highlights the initial call about the murders, with Lanier describing his reaction to the news.
It was hard," he said in the video. "I got called at home. It was on a Sunday afternoon and it took me a second. I really had to think about what I had just heard -- four murders in Moscow, Idaho is so out of character."Lanier said he got over the initial shock and headed to the police department. Once there, he said, it was all hands on deck and everyone was focused on solving the murders.
Lanier then headed to the off-campus home, where the bodies of Ethan Chapman, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were found. He quickly knew he would need more recourses.
"We have a very, very good relationship with Idaho State Police," he said. "We knew what their capabilities were, and so that was the first call that we made."
As a team, the two agencies began to process the scene.
"The scene wasn't chaos -- we know the neighborhood, but it was very, very somber," he said. "That is a community of college students that live over there. Many of them, through word of mouth, knew what had happened. They were standing outside (and) there was a lot of crying. There were friends trying to find out who exactly was inside the house. Some family members that arrived on scene -- it was incredibly hard for the community, but it was also really, really hard on our officers, so of whom were very young, and that was the first real major crime scene that they had encountered, so emotionally, it was a very, very draining day."
Lanier said the Moscow Police Department, along with the Idaho State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has taken "a systematic method" of tackling the case and sifting through leads.
"We had the FBI's command post in our parking lot and we've hooked them up to WiFi," he said. 'Everything that they would normally do down in Salt Lake City office, they are doing right here in our parking lot, so the team effort has been amazing. It's been overwhelming at times, but there are so many people (and) so much expertise, somebody always steps up and takes the role that needs to be filled."
Detectives said they remain focused on finding the people in a white Hyundai Elantra, which authorities said was spotted near the scene the night of the murder.
Police recently released two stock images of the car, which is similar to the car at the scene. Police said the license plate is unknown, adding that they hope to speak to the occupants.
Police have also issued a warning to anyone who is harassing and threatening others online, as authorities told KLEW that rumors and speculation are affecting the families of the victims, as well as their friends and fellow students.
That speculation, police said, is borderline accusatory.
The harassing, accusatory behavior is also bad because we want people to feel comfortable contacting us if they have any information about this case,” Johnson said.Lanier agreed, noting that the rumors on social media have been "the most frustrating part" of the investigation.
"The really unfortunate part is the effect it's had on victim's families, the college students and friends of the victims, some of whom have had death threats," he said.
"In some ways -- in many ways -- it just revictimizes folks who have already suffered this terrible trauma," he added.
Still, Lanier said he is confident the killer -- or killers -- will be brought to justice.
He, as well as everyone else involved in the case, said it's their top priority.
"Eventually, and we see this coming, eventually, we're going to narrow in on exactly what happened and who did it," he said.
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