The two University of Idaho students who survived the quadruple homicide at their home spoke out about their roommates’ deaths for the first time.
As we’ve reported, the two roommates were asleep on the first floor of their house in Moscow, Idaho, when their three roommates, Madison Mogen, Kaylee GonCalves, and Xana Kernodle, along with Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin, were stabbed to death last month. Their deaths have been a mystery, and nearly three weeks since the brutal murders happened, the Moscow Police Department still has not named a suspect nor found the weapon. However, cops have been going back-and-forth on the theory that the murders were a personal and “targeted attack.”
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On Wednesday morning, the Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson even claimed: “investigators believe that this attack was intended for a specific person.” But police pushed back in a statement on Facebook later, saying:
“Conflicting information has been released over the past 24 hours. The Latah County Prosecutor’s Office stated the suspect(s) specifically looked at this residence, and that one or more of the occupants were undoubtedly targeted. We have spoken with the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office and identified this was a miscommunication. Detectives do not currently know if the residence or any occupants were specifically targeted but continue to investigate.”
Then, Moscow PD changed its tune once again on Friday, stating:
“We remain consistent in our belief that this was a targeted attack, but investigators have not concluded if the target was the residence or if it was the occupants.”
Basically, it sounds like they do not know anything right now. But one thing they’re sure about? Even though the two roommates – who have since been identified as Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke – were home at the time of the murders, police are not considering them suspects.
And now, Dylan and Bethany have addressed their four friends’ murders in heartbreaking public statements during a memorial service at the Real Life Ministries Church on Friday. Bethany, who had a pastor read her message, expressed how she wished she could have hugged the four students one last time:
“I wish every day that I could give them all one last hug and say how much I love them. You always told me that everything happens for a reason, but I’m having a really hard time trying to understand the reason for this.”
She went on to praise Kaylee’s sense of humor and her determination to succeed and recalled how Ethan had a “bright personality” that captivated everyone he met. Bethany then spoke about the love he had for his girlfriend Xana:
“The way you loved her was truly admirable and so special. It made people believe in true love.”
Meanwhile, Dylan said Ethan and Xana were not only ‘the two best friends but perfect pair together,” adding:
“They had this unstoppable, loving relationship. They both would look at each other with so much love. Everyone knew they were the perfect duo. They both had this fun, passionate, crazy but good energy. They both were the kind of people who cared about everyone and would help anyone.”
She then mentioned how Madison and Kaylee were “an inseparable duo” who were “like second moms to me.” Heartbreaking…
We cannot imagine what these two must be going through. We continue to keep them and the rest of Kaylee, Madison, Xana, and Ethan’s loved ones in our thoughts during this difficult time.
[Image via Good Morning America/YouTube, Kaylee GonCalves/Instagram]
