Idaho police officials are investigating a possible link between the murders committed against four University of Idaho students last week and a similar homicide case from Oregon last year.
For the Oregon incident, a husband and wife were stabbed in their beds while sleeping — similar to what took place in Idaho.
James Fry, the Moscow, Idaho, police chief, said his department is exploring "every avenue" to identify the mysterious killer who's suspected of taking the lives of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, on Nov. 13.
Police speculate the attacks were a "targeted" effort, but also stopped short of explaining that rationale to the media.
Capt. Roger Lanier said, "You're going to have to trust us on that at this point because we're not going to release why we think that."
One possible explanation for the murders being linked: A long, military-grade knife was apparently used for both sets of killings, according to The Daily Mail.
On Aug. 13, 2021, Travis Juetten was reportedly stabbed 29 times by a masked man who broke into his Silverton, Oregon, home around 3 a.m.
Juetten's wife Jamilyn, 24, was also attacked, but survived, despite incurring 19 stab wounds — one of which severed a muscle in her hand.
Also, for both the Idaho and Oregon cases, two roommates were left unharmed, even though all four were sleeping in the respective houses at the time of the slayings.
And according to The Daily Mail, in both instances, the suspected killer was able to slip into each home undetected — but ultimately took nothing from the property.
Despite the murders being committed 15 months and 400-plus miles apart, Fry said that Moscow police are breaking down every clue and possible motive attached to the killings.
The police are "looking into any possible connection [to the] unsolved double stabbing," said Fry. "We have other agencies reaching out to us with other cases and stuff that we are going to follow up on those.
"... I actually had a tip come in on that case, and I forwarded it," added Fry.
Juetten's mother, Myra, told The Daily Mail she hopes the Idaho murders will lead to a breakthrough in her son's case.
"Travis was a young man, too. He was a beautiful young man, and he was 26 years old when they came after him. What I want is the police departments to work together to see if they can solve both these crimes because they're horrendous," said Myra Juetten.
"For somebody to go into someone's house, not take a thing, and just go in and stab somebody when they're asleep in their bed in the middle of the night — these are crazy people. To do this to beautiful people who had their whole lives ahead of them — to just come in and kill them ... That makes no sense. It's really tough," added Juetten.
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