The two surviving people inside an Idaho house where four college students were slaughtered were texting each other during the massacre.
The details of the messages have not been released but apparently were exchanged as the killer went room to room in the spree, according to an AirMail piece on the murders. The texts were revealed by a grand jury source.
The piece offered an in-depth look at the killings of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Maddie Mogen, 21, housemate Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, on 13 November 2022.
The piece was written from Kaylee’s father’s point-of-view and drew the ire of the dad who said he never agreed to an interview for the artcile.
AirMail writer Howard Blum, 75, insisted that his profile of the grieving father was created via interviews with people close to him, as well as a ‘trove of texts.’
Airmail writer Howard Blum, 75, was slammed by Steve Goncalves – whose daughter Kaylee was murdered inside her college home last year in Moscow , Idaho – for writing the highly dramatized, ‘fictional’ report
Steve Goncalves with his daughter Kaylee
In response to the story, Steve Goncalves said in a statement: ‘As it is common in these situations people try to make money off of the dead. It’s a free world and people can write and say pretty much anything they want these days.
‘Most of the time my family and I just ignore the chatter and the noise, but line shave to be drawn somewhere. I was recently sent an article on ‘Airmail’ by Howard Blum, describing Kaylee, apparently quoting me, and completely making up a fictional story about FBI letters, etc.
‘Mr Blum recently has used the murders to get back into the spotlight appearing on an NBC show as well as a ‘book’ he is writing.
‘He has reached out through our attorney several times to speak to us but we have declined.
‘I just want to make it very clear to the public that we have not spoken to Mr Blum about the death of our daughter.
‘In his article he writes as if he were Mr Goncalves and has gone through the tragedy of having a murdered daughter and what he has experienced and is still experiencing.
‘This is nothing more than grandstanding and a very, very poor attempt and getting attention. This piece is obviously fictional but written in poor taste.
Bryan Kohberger , 28, has been charged with the murders of the four University of Idaho students in November last year
‘The Goncalves Family would ask that everyone please respect the victims of this tragedy and continue to support trustworthy journalism.’
In the Airmail piece, writer Blum stated: ‘Airmail reached out to Steve for comment, but Steve’s attorney said neither he nor his client can comment due to a gag order.’
The writer made reference to a grand jury source, who allegedly told Steve that the surviving two girls were ‘texting one another as the murderer methodically went from one room to the next.’
Blum then hypothesized: ‘The possibility that two people had a sense of the horror while it occurred and had not acted, calling neither friends nor 911, left Steve floored.’
At the beginning of his piece, he also dramatized words in the first person, as if they were being written by one of the victims’ family members.
Victims (L-R) Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee’s shoulders) Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle
Blum said in a statement following the backlash from the Goncalves family: ‘One: I have no wish to get into a public argument with Mr. Goncalves; he and his family have already suffered too much pain.
‘Two: We both agree on that I never interviewed him (as the article clearly states).
‘Three: My portrait of a grieving father was based on a trove of texts he wrote that were made available to Air Mail, his public statements, and interviews with people close to him.’
Bryan Kohberger, 28, has been charged with the murders of the four University of Idaho students. Steve previously revealed that Maddie was likely the first to die.
Steve believes Kaylee was stuck between her friend’s body and the wall before the assailant attacked her, citing the coroner’s report.
Speaking to CBS News’ Peter Van Sant, he said: ‘There’s evidence to show that she awakened and tried to get out of that situation, [but] she was assaulted and stabbed.
‘The bed was up against the wall. The headboard was touching the wall and the left side of the bed was touching the wall.
‘And we believe that Maddie was on the outside and Kaylee was on the inside. The way the bed was set up…[Kaylee] was trapped.’
Kaylee’s mother, Kristi, said that she thinks the killer’s plan ‘went awry’, adding that he ‘intended to kill one and killed four’.
Their comments come after Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial, pushing back the court case until at least next year.
He refused to answer when asked for his plea, so a judge entered a not guilty indication on his behalf. His legal team denies the allegations against him.
Family members of the victims spoke with Van Sant in ‘The Night of the Idaho Murders,’ with Xana’s sister Jazzmin opening up for the first time.
‘I don’t know why [the murders] happened,’ she said. ‘I wish we knew. They were, all four of them were, just such great people and made such an impact on the lives around them.’
Xana’s father said that he believes his daughter fought back against her killer, adding, ‘It’s upsetting to think about’.
The Goncalves family believes that alleged killer Kohberger made several scouting trips to the property on Kings Road.
‘He had to know when people were coming, people going,’ says Steve.
A police affidavit states that Kohberger visited the property on at least 12 occasions prior to the killings.
The Goncalves family have been undertaking their own investigation and were regularly speaking out before a gag order was put in place.
The family say the probe revealed that Kohberger was following both Kaylee and Maddie on Instagram, adding that it ‘appeared to be’ his real account.
Steve said: ‘We’re not going to just sit back and cross our fingers and pray we’re going to get justice.’
His wife said that she believes Kohberger is responsible for the slayings, adding: ‘He’s going to feel all of us just staring at the back of his head. And he knows… what he did to our daughter.’
But Kohberger’s defense team says that there is ‘no connection’ between him and any of the victims, rubbishing the social media claims.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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