Moscow police chief stokes fresh frustration in Idaho murders probe with vague comment on killer’s whereabouts

Police chief James Fry is still refusing to say how much they know about where the killer might be

Nearly six weeks since the murder of four University of Idaho students, police are still refusing to say how much they know about the whereabouts of the killer.

In an interview with NewsNation on Thursday, Moscow police chief James Fry declined to answer a question about whether the culprit was still in the area.

"Like I said, we're not disclosing any of that, but there's some of that we just don't know at this point," Mr Fry said. "We're still trying to put everything together.

"We've said all along that we need people to be vigilant, we need people to pay attention. We're not sure exactly where the individual is."

That answer is likely to frustrate families and locals who have criticised the investigation for refusing to release information, as well as confusing and sometimes inconsistent public statements.

It comes after Steve Goncalves, the devastated father of murder victim Kaylee Goncalves, told CNN that he “has to” believe that his daughter’s killer will be caught.

Sunday will mark the six-week anniversary of the day when Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were stabbed to death in their beds in Moscow on 13 November.

Police have generally been tight-lipped about what they know, or whether they know anything, about the crime, at one point claiming that there was "no imminent threat to the community at large" before reversing course.

On Wednesday, Mr Fry told NBC that the case is not going cold and denied that the victims’ families are being “left in the dark”.

He has previouly said that certain details were not being disclosed in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation.

It was not clear from Mr Fry's answer on Thursday whether the police do not know if the killer has left the area, or whether they know but are declining to say so as not to spook the culprit.