US: Mystery surrounds stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students

Idaho students Madison Mogen (top left), Kaylee Goncalves (bottom left), Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were found dead on Sunday. Credit: AP/Kaylee Goncalves Instagram

Four Idaho University students who were found dead at a home near campus were stabbed to death, a coroner has confirmed.

Mystery continues to surround the killings of the students, with police unable to identify a suspect or find a weapon since their bodies were discovered on Sunday.

The victims - three women and one man, all close friends - were found dead on Sunday afternoon by police responding to a report of an unconscious person at the home.

There was no sign of forced entry and a door was found open by the first police officers to arrive.

Seniors Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, junior Xana Kernodle, 20, and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20, were found dead in the large rental house close to the university campus.

Two other people were found alive and unhurt when police arrived.

Police declined to say whether they were able to provide an account of the killings, or to specify who called 911.

All four victims were University of Idaho students and members of fraternities and sororities. The two women were roommates.

Officers investigate an apartment complex south of the University of Idaho campus. Credit: AP

Latah County coroner ruled that all four were stabbed with a knife. Officials said they were likely killed several hours earlier.

Officials believe the attack was targeted due to evidence found at the scene - though they have not released details.

However, police walked back on a previous statement that there was no threat to the public.

"We cannot say that there is no threat to the community," said Moscow Police Chief James Fry on Wednesday.

“We still believe it’s a targeted attack. But the reality is there still is a person out there who committed four very horrible, horrible crimes.”

Some of the victims' family members have been urging tight-lipped police to release more information about the killings and to reveal why they said there was no ongoing danger.

Boise State University students, along with people who knew the four victims, pay their respects at a vigil. Credit: AP

Mr Chapin and Ms Kernodle were last seen at a party on campus on Saturday night, while Ms Mogen and Ms Goncalves were at a downtown bar and arrived home sometime after 1.45am on Sunday, Mr Fry said.

Ms Mogen and Ms Goncalves were seen in a Twitch livestream getting food from a local truck.

Investigators said nothing appears to have been stolen from the victims or the home, and they have not revealed whether any of the students expressed safety concerns before the attack.

The killings have shaken Moscow, an Idaho Panhandle college town of 25,000 residents that last saw a homicide about five years ago, according to Coroner Cathy Mabbutt.

“It's pretty tough,” Ms Mabbutt said.

Dozens of students from Boise State University gathered on Thursday in a candlelight vigil in memory of Mr Chapin, Ms Kernodle, Ms Mogen and Ms Goncalves.

News of the deaths prompted many of the 11,000 students to leave the Idaho campus early for Thanksgiving break.

University of Idaho President Scott Green said the university will remain open for the rest of the week because some students have found comfort there with staff and classmates.

The school is also giving excused absences to anyone who feels more comfortable leaving early ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

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