University of Idaho student pens emotional op-ed on how murders have rocked Moscow

In an opinion piece for the Idaho Statesman, journalism major Katarina Hockema describes the community’s unwaning frustration

A University of Idaho student has penned an emotional op-ed about the horrific, yet-to-be-solved quadruple murder that has roiled the college town of Moscow.

In her opinion piece for the Idaho Statesman, journalism major Katarina Hockema describes the community’s frustration as it continues to grapple with grief, uncertainty, and safety concerns. Three weeks on from the brutal stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, no arrests have been made and no suspects identified.

Ms Hockema said she has personally seen the toll that the crime has taken on her friends and colleagues covering the case. She added that the tragedy had “touche[d] all of us, every student.”

“I’ve seen friends lose sleep, and friendly faces deluged in endless Twitter threads and Facebook comments, fighting misinformation or careless speculation, ensuring that the most trusted and accurate, although heartbreaking, coverage comes from home,” she writes.

“I’ve seen borrowed headlines on Twitter posts from national and international coverage. I cried the first and only time I sought out broadcast coverage on my television.”

Ms Hockema said the reality that four fellow students had been brutally killed just a few miles from campus didn’t immediately settle in.

Seemingly shocked by the news, she attended a party on the day of the murders after an update by Moscow Police assured the student body that there was no threat — a claim the department would backtrack from in the following days.

When she returned from the gathering, Ms Hockema found herself crying on the phone to her mother, finally giving in to the enormity of the tragedy.

“[I’m] maddened by the cruelty and disregard for human life this person (or these people) displayed,” she wrote. “Anxious from the lack of critical information, and the seemingly endless days of little to no updates. Anxious for my safety, as a lack of suspect and a lack of threat do not align.”

Ms Hockema, like many other students, temporarily left campus amid advice from local law enforcement to remain cautious and vigilant as the killer is still at large.

She has since returned to the campus, according to her op-ed.

Moscow Police provided perhaps the most substantial update in the investigation on Wednesday, revealing that detectives are now searching for the occupant or occupants of a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra that was seen near the home at the time of the murders.

The vehicle was “in the immediate area” of the rental home on King Road in the early hours of 13 November. Its licence plate is unknown.

“If you know of or own a vehicle matching this description, or know of anyone who may have been driving this vehicle on the days preceding or the day of the murders, please forward that information to the Tip Line,” the department said in a statement.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 208-883-7180, email tips at tipline@ci.moscow.id.us, or submit digital media to the FBI at fbi.gov/moscowidaho.