Cole Alteneder, a former tenant of an Idaho house that hosted the murder of four students, is bewildered that the killer went undetected upon entering the “creaky house.”
The University of Idaho graduate who lived on the King Road home in 2021 said people couldn’t walk up any stairs or on any of the floors without everyone in the house knowing.
The 21-year-olds Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were butchered on the top floor of the house. While Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle, both 20, were stabbed in a bedroom on the second floor.
The two other roommates, both 19, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, were fast asleep on the first floor when the bloodbath happened, according to police.
They woke up later that morning and claimed they didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary on the night of the murders.
The person who lived below me always said he could hear me walking around.
Cole Alteneder
According to the report, when the two girls awoke, they called for help, believing that one of the victims they had found on the second floor had blacked out and was not waking up.
Autopsies revealed that the four were most certainly asleep when they were attacked. Each had been stabbed multiple times, with some having defensive wounds. The police also said there was no evidence of a sexual assault.
It was unclear how those survivors, who are not considered suspects, could ignore the gruesome mass killing happening above their heads.
Alteneder, who graduated this year, claimed that his former roommates below him could hear almost everything he did in his room when he lived there.
“The person who lived below me always said he could hear me walking around,” Alteneder told ABC News. “I had a desk and a rolling chair, and he could hear that roll around.”
He also mentioned that the house had inadequate insulation and a ventilation system that enabled tenants to hear everyone talking throughout the house.
Alteneder explained that each floor has two bedrooms and a bathroom, and all tenants are very “familiar with the inside of the home.”
According to the former tenant, the house and the neighborhood both had a very active party life, and if the police showed up, people would jump the fence and flee.
Still on the loose
Alteneder was also surprised that authorities had not solved the horrific case. He believes that everyone expects an arrest by now.
At the time of this writing, there are still no suspects, and the weapon, which is believed to be a large knife, has yet to be discovered. However, the police department recently asked for the public’s help in tracking the murderer.
Investigators said that anyone with information about what happened the night of the murders should continue to report additional photos, videos and social media content.
Currently, police have received nearly 12,000 tips and 4,500 digital media submissions. “Whether you believe it is significant or not, your information might be one of the puzzle pieces that help solve these murders,” they said.
Although Mogen’s father is disappointed that the killer is still on the loose, he is confident that the killer will be found soon. The bereaved father said that there are “DNA and videos everywhere” that could be used to catch the killer.
“I can get all my news about it right from there [investigators], and I don’t have to try and drudge through all this misinformation.
Ben Mogen
He added that investigators had contacted him daily to provide updates. If he does not respond to their calls for several days, the lead investigator will call his family to check on him.
Ben Mogen said the updates enabled him to ignore the widespread online speculation and rumors surrounding the ongoing case.
“It’s hard for me to read all of these articles,” said Mogen. “I can get all my news about it right from there [investigators], and I don’t have to try and drudge through all this misinformation.”
He said he just wanted to “take the higher road” on this gruesome case, or it would be detrimental to his well-being because “it’s hard enough as it is.” The father said he’s trying to “get through these days one at a time.”