Sisters of victim warn UI students about unsettled situation

MOSCOW — With the perpetrator of the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students still at large, a sister of one of the victims posted on Instagram on Wednesday about the severity of the case and warned UI students about the unsettled situation.

“To the students at the University of Idaho that are still staying around campus, leave,” Aubrie Goncalves said, sister of Kaylee Goncalves. “Your grades are severely less important than your lives.”

Goncalves explained in a lengthy post that “she was dreading posting” but wanted to bring awareness to the situation.

With her post circling around Instagram among UI students and the Moscow community, another one of Goncalves’ sister, Autumn Goncalves, posted with the same message, pinpointing that it is an “isolated, targeted attack, until it isn’t.”

“How the police say ‘no threat’ makes NO SENSE,” she said. “No one is safe, please get your loved ones home.”

The Moscow Police Department held a news conference at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday where Scott Green, president of UI, and Blaine Eckles, the dean of students, made an appearance. They said they haven’t canceled school because some students wanted to keep going, but if students “want to leave and go home now, they absolutely can. We’re going to support them in doing so,” Eckles said.

“We have been working with Moscow police since we were notified on Sunday of the crime,” Green said. “We have helped when asked and continually pushed for as much information as possible, knowing we cannot interfere with the important work of a good investigation. We just want justice for these victims.”

With the number of students who have left campus early, UI has postponed a candlelight vigil that had been planned for Wednesday night to Nov. 30. The time and location is still being determined.

Carrillo-Casas can be contacted at mcarrillo@dnews.com.