A family member of one of the four University of Idaho students who were brutally murdered is coming forward with new details about what may have happened in the moments leading up to their deaths last weekend.
As we previously reported, 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, 20-year-old Xana Kernodle, 21-year-old Madison Mogen, and 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves were found stabbed to death after police responded to a call about an unconscious person at the off-campus residence on the morning of November 13 in Moscow, Idaho. Law enforcement believes the murders had been a “targeted” attack, while the coroner Cathy Mabbutt said the students were likely sleeping when they died.
Two other roommates were at home at the time of the murders but were not considered suspects. During a press conference on Sunday, the Idaho Statesman reported to authorities that they went out in Moscow separately on Saturday, November 12, and returned home at around 1 a.m. They then slept in late. Police also suggested the 911 call came from inside the home from one of the roommates’ phones.
Over the past week, police have been trying to put together a timeline of what happened before the murders. A video from a Twitch page of the GrubTrucker food truck showed Kaylee and Madison ordering food before talking with friends. Then, Police Chief James Fry said on Wednesday that Chapin and Kernodle were at a party, while Mogen and Goncalves were at the bar. They all returned to their house at about 1:45 a.m., and then were killed “some time in the early morning hours of Sunday, November 13.”
Between then, Kaylee’s sister, Alivea GonClaves, has now revealed to Inside Edition that she reached out to someone named “Jack” seven times between 2:26 a.m. and 2:52 a.m. on November 13 when the group was home. She then claimed Maddie also called the man three times. She explained to the outlet on Friday:
“At 2:26 a.m. Kaylee starts to call Jack. Kaylee calls Jack six times between 2:26 a.m. to 2:44 a.m., from 2:44 to 2:52 Maddie calls Jack three times, then Kaylee makes a final call to him at 2:52 a.m. And they are both never heard from again.”
According to the Idaho Statesman, police confirmed the phone calls in the press conference on Sunday, noting that the information is “part of the ongoing investigation.” However, their parents, Steve and Kristi GonCalves spoke on Fox News’ Lawrence Jones Cross Country show on Saturday to reveal the man in question had been Kaylee’s ex-boyfriend. They then insisted Jack was not involved in the quadruple murder, saying police are “wasting their time” investigating the ex. The mom said:
“They’re wasting their time with Jack. And Jack is just as distraught as we are. Jack is our family. Jack is 1,000%. 2,000% our family, and Jack is with us, and we stand behind him 100%.”
She continued:
“We are supporting him, and we know in our hearts and our minds and our souls and the depths of our soul, Jack is hurting. Kaylee and Jack would have eventually been married. They would have eventually been married, and they would have eventually had children.”
Kristi explained Kaylee and Jack had been dating for years before taking a break. She then shared that Madison had been like family to them, saying she and Steve consider her like a “daughter”:
“Maddie was in our oldest daughter’s wedding. She said, ‘All of my sisters are my bridesmaids,’ and Maddie was one of those bridesmaids. And it was all of Alivea’s sisters, including Maddie. Every time we traveled out of the country or went on vacation, Maddie went with us, so this is both of our girls, and we will never stop looking for who killed them.”
Our hearts continue to go out to the families of the victims following this unimaginable tragedy.
