Probe into University of Idaho student slayings dogged by mixed messaging from police
Mixed messaging and unclear answers from police in Moscow, Idaho, would only have availed the suspect and allowed that person to buy more time to flee, experts say.
Mixed messaging and unclear answers from police would have given whoever fatally stabbed four students in the Idaho college town of Moscow more time to flee, law enforcement experts say.
As the investigation entered its second week without a suspect and police expanded a dragnet around the students' off-campus home, Moscow Police Chief James Fry told reporters Sunday that "I can't say if the person's here; I can't say what community the person's in."
That uncertainty — with the killer or killers still at large — has fueled a mounting frustration among students at the University of Idaho, the victims' families and the wider community, and put a focus on the local police's handling of the investigation into the slayings in the early morning hours of Nov. 13.
"There's definitely a lot of confusion about the mixed messages," said Emma Jackson, 18, a freshman who left the campus early ahead of the Thanksgiving break. "I'm frustrated by the lack of information and the change from no threat to a possible threat, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who is wanting more clarity or who is uneasy about returning to school if no suspects are found before the end of the break."
In the hours after the victims' bodies were discovered in their private residence about a half-block from the university, Moscow police told the public that while "there is no one in custody," the department "does not believe there is an ongoing community risk."
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