University of Idaho murders: Father of Kaylee Goncalves reveals she did not suffer in final moments

The father of a University of Idaho student who was murdered in her sleep earlier this month has revealed his daughter did not suffer in her final moments.

Speaking on Good Morning America Tuesday, Steve Goncalves told how he only learned of his daughter, Kaylee’s, untimely death from family members on campus, and choked up as he shared how she came home from school in an urn.

‘It was fast and nobody suffered and nobody felt like that kind of pain,’ Steve revealed on Tuesday.

He said he only found out about his daughter’s untimely demise from family members on campus before police confirmed her death, and tried to call Madison — Kaylee’s best friend for years — only to find that she wasn’t responding either.

‘I haven’t earned the ability to grieve the way that I want to grieve,’ Steve said. ‘I want to be able to just have justice first.’  

He has previously spoken out about his ‘frustration’ with the lack of any new information in the investigation, which has entered its third consecutive week with no suspects. 

Still, police maintained in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com that it was a ‘targeted’ attack. 

He also shared in an interview with Good Morning America how he only learned of his daughter’s untimely death from family members on campus

Goncalves had previously admitted he has been ‘frustrated’ by the lack of information into his daughter’s murder as the investigation enters its third consecutive week without a suspect. He is pictured here with Kaylee

Kaylee, 21, her best friend Madison Mogen, also 21, and young couple Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, both 20, were all found stabbed to death in their off-campus rental house in Moscow, Idaho on the morning of November 13 after a friend called 911 about an ‘unconscious person’ in the home.

The call apparently came after Kaylee and Madison’s friends were not able to reach them after incessantly calling and texting their numbers.

The two girls were found still in their beds on the top floor of the house, with cops maintaining they were still asleep when the unknown assailant stabbed them with a knife. 

Steve’s interview Tuesday marked the second time the grieving dad has spoken out about his frustration with the slow investigation into his daughter’s death.

He had revealed to FOX News’ Lawrence Jones over the weekend how he has not heard anything from law enforcement since Wednesday at 5pm  — the same night local authorities gave a disastrous press conference in which they admitted they have no suspects in her and her friends’ murders and have not yet recovered a murder weapon.

‘They’re kind of just telling me that they can’t tell me much, which is frustrating to me because I’ve been very trustworthy,’ Steve said of the investigators, revealing: ‘I do know things, I haven’t shared things.’

He said he does not want to talk badly about law enforcement because they are ‘hardworking individuals,’ claiming he would be ‘doomed’ without them.

But, Goncalves admitted, he is disappointed by the lack of information as authorities say they are withholding details in an effort to catch the killer.

Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were all brutally murdered in their home in Moscow, Idaho, in the early hours of Sunday November 13

Goncalves and Mogen were found on the top floor in their beds. College lovers Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were found in a second floor bedroom while survivors Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke were sleeping on the first floor

They say that they are not releasing a profile of the suspect because it could lead to more fear and suspicion in the college town, which is already on edge following the gruesome murders, with some students refusing to return to classes.

‘It will potentially put more fear, more suspicion on a wide variety of people versus if we use that to really refine where we’re at in our investigation,’ Idaho State Police communications director Aaron Snell told Jones. ‘I think that will be more pertinent.’

‘And so if we just provide information to the public, I just don’t think that that’s going to be a wise choice.’ 

In the meantime, Goncalves said: ‘We’re holding our tongue, we’re waiting patiently, but we’re definitely concerned.’

He asked anyone with information about his daughter’s whereabouts the night of November 12 and into November 13 to come forward and speak to law enforcement officials, saying they may provide the missing key to helping unravel the mystery.

All four of the students were said to have been murdered in their sleep on November 13

Kaylee had spent much of the night before her death at the Corner Club — a Moscow dive bar popular with students — with Madison.

At approximately 1.30am, the pair were caught on camera purchasing a portion of carbonara pasta from Grub Wandering Kitchen – a food truck that offers late night eats on weekends.

Parked up close to the Moscow branch of insurers State Farm and outdoor store Hyperspud Sports, Madison and Kaylee were last glimpsed walking away towards what police have called ‘a private party driver’ for their final ride home.

The route, seen in exclusive DailyMail.com video, takes less than five minutes to complete and cuts through the University of Idaho campus and passes the Sigma Chi house on the right where Xana and Ethan spent their last night before taking a left up King Road towards their home.

Poignantly, the drive also goes past the Moscow Police Department headquarters which can be seen on the left just as the route turns right onto the campus.

According to police, the pair arrived home at 1.45am – at the same time as Ethan and Xana and 45 minutes after their other roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, 19, who both miraculously survived the attack.

Less than two hours later, Madison, Kaylee, Xana and Ethan were dead – butchered as they slept by a knife-wielding villain.

Autopsy results showed all four died from stab wounds to the chest, with police saying the murder weapon was a large military-style knife which still hasn’t been found.

Kaylee’s dog Murphy survived the attack unscathed and didn’t make a sound, while the first Dylan and Bethany knew of their roommates’ fate came after 11am when they woke up and went upstairs to find them dead.

Dylan Mortensen (left) and Bethany Funke (middle) lived in the modest Moscow rental house with fellow University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle (second from left) Kaylee Goncalves (second from right) and Madison Mogen (right)  but survived the attack. They have been ruled out as suspects

Officials have insisted over the past month that the quadruple stabbing was a ‘targeted’ attack, with Idaho State Police spokesman Aaron Snell, 49, telling DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview that all four of the victims could have been the intended targets.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Idaho State Police spokesman Aaron Snell, 49, said it is possible all four victims could have been targeted

He confirmed investigators have gathered enough evidence to suggest the killings were targeted, but admitted they are still no closer to identifying the murderer.

‘We still believe it was a targeted attack based on the evidence at the scene and how everything developed, what we know. We believe that’s accurate,’ he said.  

Still, Snell refused to say which of the victims police believe to be the target, describing it as a ‘delicate question’.

He said: ‘That’s part of the ongoing investigation. That’s a real delicate question and when we’re able to say that or if we’re able to say that, we’ll definitely do that.

‘It’s very similar to the whole stalking, right. Potentially if there was a stalker, that would be somebody of extreme interest.

‘You can’t lay all your cards out at once. We’re trying to find the various potential participants.’

He then admitted that there is a threat to the community, despite Moscow police originally assuring the public there was no threat to the close-knit college town.

‘Is there somebody out there? Yes,’ Snell told DailyMail.com. ‘Our goal is to find that person and bring them to justice.’

Officials have insisted over the past month that the quadruple stabbing was a ‘targeted’ attack

The first floor where the surviving roommates were sleeping sits below grade and opens onto a gravel parking lot in the front of the building (pictured) 

Police are pictured here searching for evidence through trash at a local refuse center. They now say police have mostly finished investigating the crime scene

He said police have now mostly finished investigating the crime scene, and revealed that plans to release the scene are underway — but noted that it won’t be released until cops are sure there is nothing left to retrieve.

In the meantime, most of the police work is now being done behind the scenes — with crime lab testing and reports.

‘Investigations are very difficult. Potentially, it could go for quite a while. But if we have some leads that lead us to a potential suspect and quickly… We don’t try and estimate or speculate on the length of the investigation,’ he told DailyMail.com. 

‘Obviously, our goal would have been to solve this last week so we don’t have a timeline. We are receiving a lot of quality tips and have done over 150 interviews so all the information that has been received is building that whole picture.

‘Since we don’t have a suspect at this time and we don’t have a weapon, it’s really difficult to find out what happened.

‘So, what we have to do is try and build this picture of what occurred on that night, the relationships the four of them had – was there anything suspicious in those, are there any tidbits of information we can draw from that.

‘Did anything occur in the evening of that night, was there anything out of the ordinary that occurred to them? And the movements of the residents themselves.’ 

But despite the difficulties, Snell said he is confident police will eventually unravel the mystery of what happened – and bring the killer to justice.

He said: ‘We have not identified anybody who was involved in this so we for sure do not want to say we think they came through whatever door and did this because once we do that, we start going down a rabbit hole and then all these ancillary facts that might point to something else – then maybe we would miss those.

‘[Investigators] truly are doing a phenomenal job – all the debriefs and stuff we do upstairs, they really are talking about this entire picture.

‘They’re trying not to get pigeonholed into all these various theories and motives because we’re not entirely sure what they are right now.

‘Once they get that picture, I think we’re going to see something.’

He added: ‘On TV, it’s an hour long and you have a solution. We’re now into this 11 or 12 days and people are frustrated. They want that solution and we get that.

‘In a criminal investigation, providing information is delicate. If we provide it then potentially, we could ruin the investigation and the prosecution that we hope to have.

‘That is the ultimate goal – bring justice through prosecution.’

Students have started to return to the University of Idaho, where a memorial has been set up for the college students following a Thanksgiving break

Meanwhile, students have started returning to campus from a Thanksgiving break, and remain on edge as questions remain unanswered.

The school has now announced it has increased security for the rest of the semester, as some students plan to stay home or take more classes online.

A candlelight vigil will also be held for the slain students on Wednesday in locations throughout the state.