Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle.
An attorney representingslain University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalvessays none of the victims previously knew the suspect accused in the Nov. 13 killings.
On Dec. 30, after nearly seven weeks of investigation, authorities arrested28-year-old Bryan Kohbergerin Pennsylvania and charged him with the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison “Maddie” Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, after using DNA evidence, surveillance video and cell phone pings tobuild their case.
Shanon Gray, an attorney for the Goncalves family said that there appears to be no connection between Kohberger — who was a PhD studentstudying criminologyat Washington State University at the time of the killings — and Goncalves, Mogen, Kernodle or Chapin, who were stabbed to death in an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho.
“[The Goncalves family] never heard of the guy. They’ve never met him,” Gray tells PEOPLE. “When the name Bryan Kohberger came across, no one knew who he was, and then all of the families I think started looking to see if there was any connections they could find or anything that might even help out the investigation in any way.”
Gray said that if the Goncalves family does find any possible connections, they would send that information to the Moscow Police Department, but “they don’t know of any connections.”
However, Gray did note that it is possible the suspect crossed paths with one of the students in Moscow.
Kaylee Goncalves.Kaylee Goncalves Instagram
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they crossed paths,” he said. “Those girls were very social girls out and about and doing things, and he’s just a graduate student 9 miles away. If you know anything about the University of Idaho and Washington State, people come back and forth all day long between the universities, so I wouldn’t find it odd that he’d crossed their paths in some way.”
Gray also said that before the slayings, the girls did not believe they were in any danger, despite the probable cause affidavit noting Kohberger’s cell phone was near thehome on at least 12 occasionsprior to the murders.
“They had no idea who this is,” Gray said. “He may have been hunting them, but they didn’t know they had anyone who was following them or doing any of that stuff. They didn’t even know the guy.”
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“They had no idea they were in danger,” Gray continued.
Kohberger has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. He has not yet entered a plea to the charges against him.
Arrest doesn’t ‘alleviate the pain’
Gray says theGoncalves familyis relieved a suspect has been apprehended, but understands this is only the beginning.
“It brings relief [to the family] that there’s a suspect in custody, but it’s still just the beginning of the criminal justice system, and they’re in it for the long haul,” Gray says.
The Chapin family also shared their feelings about the arrest in a public statement.
“We are relieved this chapter is over because it provides a form of closure,” theChapin family said. “However, it doesn’t alter the outcome or alleviate the pain. We miss Ethan, and our family is forever changed.”
As a motive for the killings remains unknown. Loved ones of the victims still don’t understand why this happened to the four promising young college students.
Todd McLean, a family friend and former gymnastics coach of Kernodle’s, toldToday, “I think it comes down to just basically, ‘Why?’ There’s no sense to it.'”
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While speaking toFox 13, McLean, who owned a gym in Idaho and coached Kernodle for six years, spoke about how close he and his daughter were with Kernodle.
“Her dad was a single dad raising two daughters so Xana would oftentimes come to our house after practice and stay there until he got off work,” McLean said. “She went on family trips with us.”
McLean also said it has been hard for him to come to terms with the fact that she was killed, but from the beginning, he believed the killer didn’t know her.
“I think for … several days I just felt a nauseating feeling in my stomach like I’d been kicked, but with no relief,” McLean told the outlet. “Anybody that knew Xana would absolutely fall in love with her within minutes, so we just knew it couldn’t have been somebody who had any knowledge of her at all.”
McLean says the news of an arrest hasn’t brought him any sense of closure.
“I thought when they made an arrest that was going to bring some relief, but it really did the opposite,” he said. “It just added another layer of emotion. Now you get to add anger and hatred.”
McLean is currentlyraising money for the scholarshipthat was created in Kernodle’s memory, TheXana Kernodle Scholarship Endowment.
source: people.com
