Father Of Slain Idaho College Student Says His Daughter May Have Had A Stalker

Steve Goncalves says his daughter Kaylee had talked about someone who made her uncomfortable.
The rental house in Moscow, Idaho, where four University of Idaho students were found stabbed to death is seen on Nov. 13.
The rental house in Moscow, Idaho, where four University of Idaho students were found stabbed to death is seen on Nov. 13.
Angela Palermo/Idaho Statesman via Getty Images

The father of one of the four University of Idaho students killed earlier this month in Moscow, Idaho, is speaking out to express frustration about a lack of progress in the case.

Steve Goncalves, the father of 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves, told “Good Morning America” that he’s desperate for justice so he can grieve.

“You can’t imagine sending your girl to college and then they come back in an urn,” Goncalves told ABC News’ Kayna Whitworth in a segment aired Tuesday.

“I haven’t earned the ability to grieve the way that I want to grieve,” said Goncalves, who described Kaylee as the type of kid who did everything right. “I want to have justice first.”

Investigators believe all four victims were stabbed to death while they slept in an off-campus rental house in the early hours of Nov. 13.

To Goncalves’ great relief, he said, none of the victims showed signs of sexual assault.

Madison Mogen, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, lived at the house and were also killed, as was a visitor, 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, who was dating Kernodle.

Police initially described the killings as an isolated incident with no broader threat to the general public. Now, two weeks removed from the crime and with no named suspects, no arrests and no weapon, they’ve tempered that claim.

“We cannot say that there is no threat to the community,” Moscow Police Chief James Fry said. “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.”

Goncalves told Whitworth he’s frustrated with the lack of progress, saying that in the absence of public information, falsehoods are taking root.

“There’s so much speculation because there is no information,” Goncalves said. “There’s that void, and there’s that gap that ― it gets filled with, a lot of times, nonsense and rumors and false narratives.”

The grieving father said his daughter had talked about a potential stalker who made her uncomfortable. Investigators say they’ve “looked extensively” into this possibility, “but have not verified or identified a stalker” thus far.

The University of Idaho has scheduled a candlelight vigil Wednesday night to honor the victims. Goncalves said he plans to speak at the service and that the family doesn’t intend to hold a funeral right now.

“My wife’s biggest fear ― part of the reason we didn’t have a funeral is because she couldn’t be guaranteed that ... that monster was gonna not be there,” he told KXLY News, referring to the as-yet unidentified killer.

“He’s just a coward and found some people sleeping in the bed,” Goncalves said of the killer. “I mean, it’s about as wimpy and cowardly as anybody could do.”

Need help? In the U.S., call 1-866-331-9474 or text “loveis” to 22522 for the National Dating Abuse Helpline.

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