Has anyone been following the University of Idaho murders?

[whitewave]

@Calliecake I’m sorry that happened to you. I’m glad you made it

 

[junebug17]

@Calliecake, I am really sorry you experienced such a traumatic and life-altering event. It's unimaginable and I'm so glad you made it. (((HUGS))).

I just hope they have enough evidence to convict him. If they have DNA evidence they should be able to. The police seem certain they have the right person.

 

[adlgel]

Now being reported that one of the surviving roommates opened her bedroom door three times during the window of time when he was in the house killing the other roommates.

"There's someone here": Surviving roommate heard Idaho murder victim and saw masked man in home, police affidavit says

The roommate, who slept on the same floor as one of the slain students, told police she saw a masked man walk past her on the night of the murders.

www.cbsnews.com

She had opened the door because she heard various things - someone saying “there’s someone here”, someone crying and someone saying “it’s ok I’m going to help you”.

And on the third time she opened her door she saw the killer (wearing a black mask) walk by her doorway as she stood in it and saw him exit the house. She then locked herself in her bedroom (which is a completely understandable reaction).

But what did she do next? Did she text anyone? Wouldn’t she have immediately texted something like “omg I think someone was in the house” in the roommate group chat that I’m sure existed. Wouldn’t she have texted or called her parents or the police or other local friends?

Also one of the roommates who was murdered had gotten a door dash order at 4 am and was on tiktok at 4:12 so at least one of them wasn’t sound asleep (murders are believed to have happened between 4 and 4:20). So it’s hard to understand why there wasn’t more screaming heard by the surviving roommates.

But the fact that this one roommate saw the killer makes me even more confused as to why it took until noon for the authorities to be called. It’s so terribly tragic but also still so strange about how it all transpired. The victims were found in two different bedrooms yet according to the report below the noon call to the police reported only one unconscious person. There would have been another victim in that same bedroom so why was that not reported to the police.

Moscow Police have said previously that two surviving roommates woke up and discovered what they believed to be one of the victims “passed out and not waking up” on the second-floor of the home. They summoned friends to the residence at 1122 King Rd. for help and someone placed a call to 911 at 11:58 a.m. to request assistance “for an unconscious victim.”

 

[Mreader]

Now being reported that one of the surviving roommates opened her bedroom door three times during the window of time when he was in the house killing the other roommates. She had opened the door because she heard various things - someone saying “there’s someone here”, someone crying and someone saying “it’s ok I’m going to help you”.

And on the third time she opened her door she saw the killer (wearing a black mask) walk by her doorway as she stood in it and saw him exit the house. She then locked herself in her bedroom (which is a completely understandable reaction).

Also one of the roommates who was murdered had gotten a door dash order at 4 am and was on tiktok at 4:12 so at least one of them wasn’t sound asleep (murders are believed to have happened between 4 and 4:20). So it’s hard to understand why there wasn’t more screaming heard by the surviving roommates.

But this makes me even more confused as to why it took until noon for the authorities to be called. It’s so terribly tragic but also still so strange about how it all transpired. The victims were found in two different bedrooms yet according to the report below the noon call to the police reported only one unconscious person. There would have been another victim in that same bedroom so why was that not reported to the police.

Moscow Police have said previously that two surviving roommates woke up and discovered what they believed to be one of the victims “passed out and not waking up” on the second-floor of the home. They summoned friends to the residence at 1122 King Rd. for help and someone placed a call to 911 at 11:58 a.m. to request assistance “for an unconscious victim.”

Yes I heard about that development and am also so confused. I expect more details to emerge.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Yes, I heard about that too. Sounds puzzling but I am sure we will hear that whole story at trial - if not long before. My first thought was why she didn't call 911 after seeing someone masked that didn't belong in the house. So much we don't know yet - guess time will reveal much more.

 

[adlgel]

Yes why didn't she call the police or her family or other local friends. I assume they have a group roommate chat so wouldn't she have said something like "omg - I think there is someone in the house". She heard voices so clearly she would be expecting at least one of the roommates to be awake.

And why did they report the one victim as being passed out/unconscious; wouldn't there have been a lot of obvious blood? So while I'm happy that the presumed killer has been arrested there are definitely a lot of outstanding questions.

 

[autumngems]

Sounds sketchy to me, I think more to it than just him

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

I'm not sure about the mechanics of this case, and I think it's going to be surprising in explanation. The only other piece of information I had heard that I found very strange was on his journey home with his father they were pulled over on their trek home to PA twice. His father was seemingly deliberately evasive. That makes me wonder if he knew by that time of what his son had done. I can't seem to find the article I read with that particular tidbit in it of what his father said, so I can't verify if it's any more than hearsay, but it was something that struck me when I read it initially. I can't imagine being his parent, but if his father did know, or suspect why didn't he turn him in? What else is there to do in that situation?

 

[Rfisher]

In reading the probable cause -
Soo many more questions.
So much sorrow
So much respect to the local police. He was on their radar way before we realized it.
I do think misdirection was publicly given by authorities back then and I can see why.

I cannot imagine being the parents of the deceased, but also cannot imagine my 19 year old in this situation of a surviving roommate/witness - living in a party house - being a new(er) roommate. How they would react to noises, seeing a (medical?) masked unknown person walking out - and the very real possibility they didn’t take into account any illegal drugs they might have participated in was a drop in the bucket of seriousness of the big picture of what happened here. I imagine a 19yo in this situation maybe being more concerned of what would happen to their new(ish) living situation if they contacted police and nothing was amiss and their roomies forever hated them for it.
Hindsight is 20/20. I have no clue how I would have reacted in her situation. When I was her age - even more.

This guy is a total whack job creep.
He stalked them/the house for awhile.
His major of ‘cloud forensics investigation’ /whatever it was he trumped up his academia on for his application to the local police -
Is exactly what caught him. What a dill.

 

[Rfisher]

I'm not sure about the mechanics of this case, and I think it's going to be surprising in explanation. The only other piece of information I had heard that I found very strange was on his journey home with his father they were pulled over on their trek home to PA twice. His father was seemingly deliberately evasive. That makes me wonder if he knew by that time of what his son had done. I can't seem to find the article I read with that particular tidbit in it of what his father said, so I can't verify if it's any more than hearsay, but it was something that struck me when I read it initially. I can't imagine being his parent, but if his father did know, or suspect why didn't he turn him in? What else is there to do in that situation?

I took it as the father being ‘proud’ and do think the parents knew he had some bit of issues. But didn’t see the convos during the pullovers as misdirection.


You could be right tho!! Wonder how much we will find out.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

I took it as the father being ‘proud’ and do think the parents knew he had some bit of issues. But didn’t see the convos during the pullovers as misdirection.


You could be right tho!! Wonder how much we will find out.

Yeah, very well could be, it's maddening that we just don't really know anything. I think his parents were aware he had major issues, but I'm not sure to what extent-knowing what someone is truly capable of.

 

[adlgel]

I also wonder if any of the victims could have been saved if they had gotten immediate medical attention now that we know a surviving roommate had seen an intruder in the house.

 

[Rfisher]

I also wonder if any of the victims could have been saved if they had gotten immediate medical attention now that we know a surviving roommate had seen an intruder in the house.

That has to be an immediate and ongoing thought in the minds of the survivors, and of the deceased’s family and friends.

Yet another ‘ I cannot imagine’.

 

[RMOO]

The more we find out, it seems, the more questions arise. And if the judge's gag order is followed, we will know nothing more until his trial starts. But there are a couple of things/questions that have crossed my mind since.

When arrested, he asked if anyone else had been arrested. Some speculated that this was some masterminded attempt to throw police off (although I'm not sure how- if you are involved in any way with a murder, you are going to jail.) I wonder if indeed there was someone else; to whom did he say "don't worry, I'm going to help you? Is this why phone data shows that he came back into the area around 9am?

The time lag between murders and call to police is BAFFLING. Only one roommate won't wake up?

You hear a voice say "there is someone in the house," hear whimpering, see an unknown masked man leaving through a doorwall, and are scared enough to lock yourself in your room, but do not attempt to call/text anyone, including police?

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

This is horrifying to the extreme. My god. Those poor kids and their families

But just to address what others are saying about the roommate who woke up and didn’t make a call to the police… I lived in a “party house” when I was in university. It was very normal to see strange people roaming around in your house at all odd hours (and someone in their mid 20s would not rouse suspicion the way that someone much older would. You’d assume it was someone’s friend or hookup). Masks (assuming medical mask and not ski mask) are also common these days, dark clothing is perfectly normal at night; and the roommate was probably heavily drinking / may have taken other substances that alter both perception of time and the situation.

I’m thinking back to uni days and if I would hear someone say “there’s someone in the house” I would assume either an invited friend/hookup who ran into someone else in the house or maybe a delivery guy. If I hear whimpering or yelling at night I’m assuming “oh god they’re fighting again or they’re hooking up, god please shut up and let me sleep”. And if I come out and see a strange person when I’m in my nightclothes and drunk; my paranoia probably makes me jump to “oh god strange guy, don’t want to get assaulted”. I would never think it was something to get the police involved over. The worst conclusion I would jump to is “someone brought a guy over and he assaulted her”, I too would have bolted into my room so I would not be assaulted myself and thought to myself ok I’ll check on her when the coast is clear or in the morning. If I had my phone with me (sometimes after a late night we could come home and chuck our stuff down on the couch, you’d go hunting for your phone the next day) I might send my roommates a text saying “everything good?” But if I didn’t have my phone with me I’d definitely think it’s something that could wait. Never in my life - and I have some stories from uni - would I assume that the stranger in my house is a murderer.

The poor roommate. She must be feeling awful.

 

[adlgel]

This is horrifying to the extreme. My god. Those poor kids and their families

But just to address what others are saying about the roommate who woke up and didn’t make a call to the police… I lived in a “party house” when I was in university. It was very normal to see strange people roaming around in your house at all odd hours (and someone in their mid 20s would not rouse suspicion the way that someone much older would. You’d assume it was someone’s friend or hookup). Masks (assuming medical mask and not ski mask) are also common these days, dark clothing is perfectly normal at night; and the roommate was probably heavily drinking / may have taken other substances that alter both perception of time and the situation.

I’m thinking back to uni days and if I would hear someone say “there’s someone in the house” I would assume either an invited friend/hookup who ran into someone else in the house or maybe a delivery guy. If I hear whimpering or yelling at night I’m assuming “oh god they’re fighting again or they’re hooking up, god please shut up and let me sleep”. And if I come out and see a strange person when I’m in my nightclothes and drunk; my paranoia probably makes me jump to “oh god strange guy, don’t want to get assaulted”. I would never think it was something to get the police involved over. The worst conclusion I would jump to is “someone brought a guy over and he assaulted her”, I too would have bolted into my room so I would not be assaulted myself and thought to myself ok I’ll check on her when the coast is clear or in the morning. If I had my phone with me (sometimes after a late night we could come home and chuck our stuff down on the couch, you’d go hunting for your phone the next day) I might send my roommates a text saying “everything good?” But if I didn’t have my phone with me I’d definitely think it’s something that could wait. Never in my life - and I have some stories from uni - would I assume that the stranger in my house is a murderer.

The poor roommate. She must be feeling awful.

I understand your point but it's been reported that this surviving roommate was "frozen in shock" so she seemingly did have a strong reaction to the presence of an unknown man. Yes, perhaps she didn't have her phone with her or there is some other explanation for what she did or didn't do next

 

[RMOO]

True @AllAboardTheBlingTrain, the fact that this was a college town area, and everything that goes with young adults who think they are invincible, is going to contribute to the lax security. And, as always, hindsight is 20/20.

I believe the police have, at least one of the persons involved, if not the only one. The DNA evidence is pretty damning. A lot of the other "evidence" and innuendo can be explained away using the same college behavior though. Driving in the area 12 times since August? - well yeah, could have been every weekend for parties. Phone off between 3-5 am? - yeah, phone battery died and had to wait until it had enough juice to turn on. Cleaned out his car wearing gloves, and threw some stuff in his neighbors trash cans? - yeah, there was old moldy food, or worse yet, vomit in there.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I wo

I understand your point but it's been reported that this surviving roommate was "frozen in shock" so she seemingly did have a strong reaction to the presence of an unknown man. Yes, perhaps she didn't have her phone with her or there is some other explanation for what she did or didn't do next

I wonder if “frozen in shock” were her own words or that of a reporter. Regardless, this entire incident is shocking in the extreme. It makes me shudder thinking of the sheer amount of security risks we took in college!

True @AllAboardTheBlingTrain, the fact that this was a college town area, and everything that goes with young adults who think they are invincible, is going to contribute to the lax security. And, as always, hindsight is 20/20.

I believe the police have, at least one of the persons involved, if not the only one. The DNA evidence is pretty damning. A lot of the other "evidence" and innuendo can be explained away using the same college behavior though. Driving in the area 12 times since August? - well yeah, could have been every weekend for parties. Phone off between 3-5 am? - yeah, phone battery died and had to wait until it had enough juice to turn on. Cleaned out his car wearing gloves, and threw some stuff in his neighbors trash cans? - yeah, there was old moldy food, or worse yet, vomit in there.

It makes me honestly shudder thinking of the kinds of risks we all took in college just as a matter of course. For a while I lived in a house where none of the rooms had locks! And we never shut the main door either! Literally anyone could have come in off the street, let themselves inside, and come into our rooms to do whatever the hell they wanted. I remember this one time I walked into the bathroom and found a strange man showering. My only reaction was to face palm and ask that person if they would mind locking the door next time, not even bother to ask who they belonged to lol.

 

[whitewave]

She has experienced trauma years ago and has nightmares and anxiety and panic attacks at night. She also disassociates when this happens.

Anyone who has had trauma can understand this. It didn’t make sense to me until I read about this part of her life.

She froze and then wasn’t sure it was a nightmare, disassociated and didn’t believe what she saw. Hours later when it seems to be Something real, they called friends who came over and one surviving roommate hyperventilated on the phone with 9–1-1 so the male friend had to take over the call and the abused roommate passed out on the lawn.

 

[whitewave]

Follow Jennifer coffindafer on Twitter. Former FBI agent

 

[whitewave]

I also wonder if any of the victims could have been saved if they had gotten immediate medical attention now that we know a surviving roommate had seen an intruder in the house.

Sounds like probably not.

 

[whitewave]

BTW, I’m not going to follow this case anymore. It’s too overwhelming sad for me

 

[RMOO]

She has experienced trauma years ago and has nightmares and anxiety and panic attacks at night. She also disassociates when this happens.

Anyone who has had trauma can understand this. It didn’t make sense to me until I read about this part of her life.

She froze and then wasn’t sure it was a nightmare, disassociated and didn’t believe what she saw. Hours later when it seems to be Something real, they called friends who came over and one surviving roommate hyperventilated on the phone with 9–1-1 so the male friend had to take over the call and the abused roommate passed out on the lawn.

Well this certainly helps things make more sense. All the reports I have read made it sound like one of the survivors thought one of the victims had passed out. I can't even imagine what they must be feeling- I sure hope they are getting some intense therapy/counseling.

 

[whitewave]

Well this certainly helps things make more sense. All the reports I have read made it sound like one of the survivors thought one of the victims had passed out. I can't even imagine what they must be feeling- I sure hope they are getting some intense therapy/counseling.

She actually came face to face with him. She froze and then he left out of the sliding glass door. I guess he was too exhausted to kill another person so he just left.

 

[adlgel]

She has experienced trauma years ago and has nightmares and anxiety and panic attacks at night. She also disassociates when this happens.

Anyone who has had trauma can understand this. It didn’t make sense to me until I read about this part of her life.

She froze and then wasn’t sure it was a nightmare, disassociated and didn’t believe what she saw. Hours later when it seems to be Something real, they called friends who came over and one surviving roommate hyperventilated on the phone with 9–1-1 so the male friend had to take over the call and the abused roommate passed out on the lawn.

Do you have a link to where this is discussed? The Newsweek report I read from 1/7/23 which quotes Jennifer Cofffindafer seems to be her speculating that that is what happened

Idaho roommate "passed out" after seeing suspect, former FBI agent suggests

Critics argue that the roommate, Dylan Mortensen, should have called police immediately after encountering an unknown person in the Moscow, Idaho, home.

www.newsweek.com

 

[whitewave]

@adlgel sorry I did state that as fact. JC tweeted two photos of a private message stating what I said, so it’s not official.

I personally believe it because it gives context that makes sense and fills in the blanks that make sense. I think it’s truth. It’s possible it’s not.

The DMs were supposedly from the GF of the guy who ended up speaking to the 911 operator.

 

[lilmosun]

Another article discussing traumatic shock

Traumatic shock: A surviving roommate of the Idaho slain students said she saw killer, according to affidavit

Medical experts said the response is not uncommon in potentially threatening situations.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[MissGotRocks]

So tonight (Friday) both Dateline and 20/20 are having shows relating to these terrible murders. Not sure if they will reveal anything other than what we know, but could be interesting.

 

[Bonfire]

I know first hand that if you are asleep in your bed you are completely vulnerable. You are laying down under covers, you can’t move and break free quickly. I had not been drinking the night I was attacked and police said he had been watching me, gave me enough time to be sleeping soundly. I didn’t hear anything until he was standing over me and about to put a pillow over my face. My apartment was on the second floor and the patio door was locked. The police told me it probably took him all of a minute to open that door. The police demonstrated how he did it. Reading about this case has been hard. I feel so lucky to be alive.

Oh @Calliecake news stories like this can be so triggering. TG you’re ok, Please take care! Big hugs!

 

[MissGotRocks]

One of the saddest takeaways from Dateline and 20/20. Ethan was just there spending the night with Xena and Kaylee had already moved out of the house and was going to Austin, TX for a job. She just came up for the night to show her roommate her new car and attend a party. Just two sweet souls in the wrong place at the wrong time. Heartbreaking for all but for those who didn’t even regularly live there even more so. Not sure how well he had staked out his victims, no way to know I guess how many he expected to encounter in the house. Can’t help but wonder if he had someone specifically in mind or if it was just anyone he encountered there. Course there were two remaining and you would surmise he must have known about at least one of them if she did actually come face to face with him. Trying to make rational sense out of crazy just doesn’t work I guess. So sad!