We’re still waiting for answers about U of I killings. What is taking so long?

It was more than 72 hours since four University of Idaho students were found dead Sunday in an off-campus apartment, before Moscow police held its first press conference to inform the public about what was going on.

We understand and appreciate the need for sensitivity, but police were way too slow in letting the public what happened.

All this week, journalists have been doing their best to report the news and answer questions that the public has about the circumstances.

Parents and family members of students at the university want to know that the community is indeed safe.

Police assured the public that “there is no imminent threat to the community at large.” At the same time, they reported that the students were killed with “an edged weapon such as a knife,” but that weapon has not been found, nor has the person who killed the students.

Those two statements do not go together.

Compare the killings at the University of Idaho with the killings of three students at the University of Virginia, which happened Sunday night, hours after the University of Idaho students were found. The University of Virginia killings involved a shooting, and a suspect was apprehended shortly thereafter, so the circumstances are different. But the amount of information that’s coming out about the University of Virginia killings is voluminous compared with what police were releasing in the University of Idaho case. Both are active investigations, yet police in Virginia are being much more forthcoming with the public about what they know.

Meanwhile, in Idaho, rumors and speculation have been flying throughout the community and throughout the state. Idahoans want to know: “What happened?”

Unfortunately, university and police officials have been tight-lipped and mysterious, which only adds to confusion and speculation about the deaths.

Officials assured the community that there wasn’t an ongoing threat to the community. But then the university called it a “homicide,” which is a death at the hands of another.

Idaho State Board of Education president Kurt Liebich then sent out a press release saying the students had been “murdered.”

If all four students have been murdered, who murdered them? Have there been any arrests? If not, how is it possible that the community is safe, with a killer on the loose?

To add insult to injury, the mayor of Moscow irresponsibly told a New York Times reporter that it could have been a “crime of passion,” then told the Idaho Statesman that he doesn’t know that, then a victim’s mother refuted the mayor’s characterization, which was outdated, inaccurate and insensitive, as it implies some blame on the victim.

This whole thing has been handled very poorly and haphazardly.

Look at any social media post about the University of Idaho killings and you’ll see any number of theories, rumors, conspiracies and pure speculation, which only serves to disrespect those who were killed.

This went on for far too long. This goes beyond just morbid curiosity. The public deserves to know what happened to these four young people, whom we are all mourning. Shaken communities need good and timely information. Instead, the lack of information fomented fear.

The deaths of four young students cut down in the prime of their lives is one of the most tragic and significant news events in recent memory, likely in state history.

Moscow Police took far too long to hold a press conference and put an end to the speculation and wondering.

This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 5:51 PM.