The fatal stabbing of four University of Idaho students could potentially be a "fantasy-driven homicide," according to a former law enforcement official.
In a recent YouTube video, Kenneth Mains, founder of the American Investigative Society of Cold Cases (AISOCC), explained how some violent offenders are motivated by their fantasies.
"Through victimology, if you don't find that they were into drugs, if you don't find that they owed money anywhere, didn't have any jealous boyfriends, things like that, once you rule all of that out, you better start looking at the fantasy-driven homicide," Mains said.
He continued: "And that's what I see, looking from the outside, just because I don't see any reports of anything else. In this case, it could be that the offender gets gratification from the act of killing. There's tons of examples of that in history."
The remarks by Mains come amid the ongoing investigation into the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle. According to the Moscow Police Department, all four were found fatally stabbed in their beds in the early hours of November 13.
"Autopsies were conducted on November 17th. The Latah County Coroner confirmed the identity of the four murdered individuals and their cause and manner of death as homicide by stabbing. The coroner stated the four victims were likely asleep, some had defensive wounds, and each was stabbed multiple times. There was no sign of sexual assault," the police department said in a press release.
As police continue to investigate the murders, no suspect has been named at this time and no murder weapon has been found. Police previously said that they believe a "fixed-blade knife" was used to commit the crime.
Meanwhile, Mains also spoke to Newsweek about the length of time it has been since the crime and said that the likelihood of catching a suspect decreases over time.
"Yet, investigations take time. The interviews, forensics, technology tracking, victimology, crime scene assessment, criminal profiling, surveillance all take time to do. The logistics, manpower, budgets and of course egos all will play a part in this investigation. It's not television where things are solved in an hour...this is real life," Mains told Newsweek on Monday.
He continued: "I think the investigators are doing everything correctly and are working the hardest they've ever worked in their life to solve this crime. They brought in the correct agencies to solve this and I believe they will. Remember, it's not always what you know it's what you can prove."
Since the investigation began, police have released very limited information to the public. They previously said that investigators believe this was a targeted attack, but refused to provide any context for their reasoning.
Newsweek reached out to the Moscow Police Department for updated information.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
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