Former LAPD cop Mark Fuhrman, the detective on the infamous OJ Simpson case, lives in Idaho and helps murder four college students
Mark Fuhrman, former investigator in the OJ Simpson murder case, has laid out the forensic details to police in Moscow, Idaho, who are set to solve the murder of four college students earlier this month.
The former LAPD detective who worked on the 1994 murder investigation of Nicole Simpson now lives in Idaho and is helping in the grisly quadruple stabbing case.
In an interview with , Fuhrman, 70, described the forensic clues investigators will find at the blood-stained crime scene, including blood spray, saliva and fibers – and focused on two chilling leads.
The veteran officer revealed police have now spoken to students who claim one of the victims, Kaylee Goncalves, complained about a “stalker” in the weeks leading up to her killing.
And he said detectives were also urgently following the troubling killings of nearby animals, including a dog three miles from the scene that was skinned and “filleted” by a human attacker.
University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death on November 13
Fuhrman, 70, described to forensic clues investigators will seek out, including blood spatter, saliva and fibers. He was seen at OJ Simpson’s trial
Muscovites Pam and Jim Colbert told on Sunday that they found their adorable mini Australian Shepherd buddy butchered on October 21, just three weeks before the killings.
Jim also found a mutilated rabbit with its scalp and ears cut off near his home shortly before Buddy’s death.
“Is this the act of someone who was disturbed? Of course it is,” Fuhrman said. ‘[Law enforcement] look at that. Hopefully they can find someone they can at least talk to, who will give them an inkling that we’re on the right track.’
Fuhrman said one way to identify a suspect is by the DNA they left at the crime scene, including the skin under their victims’ fingernails.
According to her father, Jeffrey, Xana Kernodle’s wounds suggest she may have tried to fight back during the attack.
“The forensic investigation of this scene is extensive,” Fuhrman said. “You have four students. You were in a bar, at a party or in close contact with people. You can pick up fibers, you can pick up contact DNA.
“Two of the victims are said to have fought back. That’s not confirmed by law enforcement, but there were defensive injuries. So it’s obvious that at some point the suspect had to control and stab with at least two victims, so he had to use one hand to control.
“A defensive wound or evidence someone put up a fight would be broken nails, scrapes, skin under fingernails,” he added. “We don’t know if any of this was shown in the autopsies as part of the investigation.”
Buddy, a 12-year-old mini Australian Shepherd, was filleted and skinned near the spot where four students had been brutally murdered just weeks earlier
Jim and Pam Colbert hold the collar of their dog Buddy, who was found skinned a month ago near their home in Moscow, Idaho. They are pictured with Buddy’s collar, which he was wearing when he was butchered
The Buddy incident happened just a few miles from where four University of Idaho students were murdered while they slept in their beds
Fuhrman described how re-enacting the attack could help find clues, but also explained why the attacker was able to kill all four and no one reported hearing screams.
“You’re trying to visualize in your head what the victims were probably going through at that point,” he said.
“If you sleep well at all – and no doubt all those kids slept like logs – you’ll be woken up by someone who has stabbed you. I’m not sure if you wake up fully by the second or third stitch.
“I kind of wonder if most of it isn’t over by now.”
“Only the investigators on the case know what it actually looked like when they got to the scene,” Fuhrman said.
“But you have to imagine that it’s winter; The children have blankets or a duvet over them. So when it starts, the suspect is probably stabbing through a ceiling.
‘The murders took place in bed. I can tell you the bed and blankets are going to absorb a fair amount of blood.
“The floor is all simulated hardwood planks, so nothing soaks up the blood, and if the blood is on the floor, you’d have to go in at some point… Nobody’s describing that.
Fuhrman hopes some of the killer’s DNA will be found among the evidence forensic scientists are reviewing.
Police sources told that the scene inside the house “is the worst they have ever seen” with victims left bleeding to death after the brutal early morning attack
Moscow police are under increasing pressure to find answers about the brutal sleeping murders of four students – including why 911 was not called until nine hours later
“There are many places for potential evidence and you can’t miss anything. It’s not like we have ballistics or shell casings. You have an attack with a knife and four different people who bled to death,” he said. “So it’s significant and overwhelming how much forensic data you have to collect.
“They’re looking for overlapping, mixed blood DNA from a sample set that doesn’t match the four victims.
“The suspect attacks people, leans against them and stabs them while they fight back.
Fuhrman revealed police spoke to students who allege victim Kaylee Goncalves (pictured) complained about a “stalker” in the weeks leading up to her killing
“If Xana throws punches, let’s hope she actually hit him in the nose and he has a bloody nose.
“Let’s just hope he’s at least totally excited, fizzed up and pumped with adrenaline. He might salivate from his mouth because he might be calling out something. That’s what they’re looking for.’
Fuhrman previously revealed that he spoke to a student who heard rumors that Kaylee had a stalker.
He told the students have been referred to police but the worrying lead could be difficult to follow.
“I was just told this by a couple of students, but this information was twice withdrawn from the victims. And I’m a little wary of what 18-21 year old kids call stalkers,” he said.
“A pretty girl who gets asked out too many times is one thing. Someone they don’t know, who isn’t a student and shows up in places where they shouldn’t be, is someone else.
“Someone said that on Monday last week, that [Kaylee] had expressed concerns to a friend about a so-called stalker. This friend told this to another person who came to see me.
“If the kids talk about it, it probably has some validity because they’re not talking about the same thing to the other victims.
“This person did not wish to be contacted but I am sure the police have spoken to them by now. My advice was that everyone must make themselves available and call exactly what they told me to.
“It’s an obvious way to approach it, but it quickly leads to a dead end unless someone has documented something.”
Moscow Police Chief James Fry confirmed they still have not identified a suspect in the murder and admitted they could not rule out a threat to the community
Moscow police are under increasing pressure to find answers about the brutal sleeping murders of four students – including why 911 was not called until nine hours later.
Officials who rushed to the six-bedroom property initially claimed there was no major threat to the public – a statement they retracted three days after the incident and have not made a single arrest.
Kaylee’s parents say police told them the crime scene “will take a lot of time” to process and the killer was “sloppy.”
Police were quick to claim the scene of the “complex and horrific crime” was the “most horrific” they had ever seen, although oddly at first they said they believed one of the victims had “passed out.”
As the investigation enters its second week, questions mount about the unsolved quadruple murders, seemingly leaving cops perplexed as they search for more information.
Last week, Latah County Attorney Bill Thompson said the Thanksgiving break hampered the investigation because many potential witnesses are students who have already left the small college town.
Moscow Police Department chief James Fry said in a statement on Sunday that more than 640 tips had been received and investigated.
Now police are asking residents and local businesses to search surveillance footage taken between 3am and 6am the night the four friends were murdered. It’s unclear why it took so long to narrow down the areas of interest.