Police investigating the University of Idaho killings have now released extended bodycam footage taken on November 13 shortly before the crime occurred.
The fatal stabbing of four students in Idaho has gripped the nation and sparked speculation surrounding the details of their deaths.
Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, were found dead in an off-campus rental house in Moscow, Idaho on November 13.
The 44-minute bodycam footage shows officers from the Moscow Police Department confronting four males regarding the possibility of underage drinking. One of the young adults they stopped confirmed that he was 21 years of age.
The full video, which was posted on the Law and Crime Network YouTube channel on Monday has so far been viewed over 180,000 times.
The footage has garnered attention due to the fact police stopped these individuals at about 2:50 a.m. local time. This was close to the time window that two of the victims were fatally stabbed—between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on November 13.
The individuals were stopped one-tenth of a mile from the rental home at 1122 King Road, where the victims were killed. Police have said the students in the footage are not connected in any way to the killings.
"Investigators working on the current homicide case are aware of the footage, they have reviewed it and all the details associated with it and have determined it is not related," the Moscow Police Department said in a statement.
The footage showed the police speaking to the young adults and asking for identification as one was seen carrying alcohol. Officers had also noticed that the young adults were swaying from side to side as they walked across the street.
In the video, three of the students admitted they were under 21 and had each drunk six to eight beers. They were issued citations for underage drinking.
Some viewers of the bodycam footage suggested that the individuals may be involved due to the presence of a parked white car seen in the video. Police had previously asked the public for help tracking down the person or people who were inside a car that was seen near the victims' home in the early hours of November 13.
Police said the vehicle is a white Hyundai Elantra made between 2011 and 2013 and that the passengers could have "critical information" about the case.
Addressing the concerns following the release of the bodycam footage, police confirmed that the vehicle in the clip is a Chevy Cavalier, not the Hyundai Elantra they are looking for, according to a Fox News report.
Newsweek reached out to the Moscow Police Department for comment.
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Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more
