Three miles from where four University of Idaho students were brutally murdered in their house, a couple’s dog was slain and skinned, causing people to fear a link between the two incidents.
Buddy, a 12-year-old little Australian Shepherd belonging to Pam and Jim Colbert, was killed after they let him out of their Moscow house on October 21, the Daily Mail said. He was left with hair only on his legs and face.
“It seemed like someone had hunted a deer,” Pam, 78, told the news source. They only skinned him after slitting his throat. “His tiny legs and face were covered in fur, but the rest of him was skinned,” she claimed.
“The opposite side of him appeared as though he had been filleted for consumption. It was dreadful and incomprehensible, Pam told the Daily Mail. “They chopped him like a fish filet. We discovered his collar, but not his fur.”
Buddy, a 12-year-old miniature Australian Shepherd, was killed and skinned soon before the adjacent stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students.
Jim Colbert, 23 years old, was spotted with his dog Buddy and stated that he discovered the scalp and ears of a rabbit that had been severed.
According to the article, a Latah County Sheriff’s Deputy who photographed the dog’s remains has established that the perpetrator was a person.
The heinous act occurred 23 days before to the stabbing deaths of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20, in their off-campus residence three miles away.
Madison Mogen, 21, was brutally killed with Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20.
Sunday, police stated that they continue to believe the incident was premeditated, but continue to be uncertain as to where the perpetrator or perpetrators may be. The murder weapon has yet to be discovered.
The Daily Mail stated that authorities have not linked Buddy’s death to the horrible killings, but residents suspect there may be a connection between the two occurrences.
“Everyone is really anxious and fearful. This is a terrible and cruel act, Pam told the newspaper. “When we released Buddy, someone must have been waiting outside. Bud never leaves the yard, but this individual captured him.”
Shortly before the dog died, Jim, age 73, discovered a rabbit with its head and ears severed near the couple’s home.
“The head was completely cut open, and the brain was visible,” he informed the news source.
When Buddy was discovered dead, the Colberts’ next-door neighbor Clinton Hughes wrote a comment on Facebook.
This appears to be clickbait, but it is not. Last night at 2 a.m., the adorable little dog of our neighbors was skinned like a deer,” he wrote on October 22.
“No animal was involved. At the same time, our larger dog was so nervous that he tore his bed into a thousand pieces. Additionally, our cat has been gone for a few days,” Hughes added.
“I’m not sure if it has anything to do with Halloween, but I don’t care. I’ll be chambering all of my firearms, and I recommend that everyone in North Moscow do the same,” he added.
About the killings, Moscow Police Chief James Fry remarked, “It was a complicated and heinous crime that will take some time to unravel.”
James Keivom
James Fry, the chief of police in Moscow, stated that investigators combed through hundreds of tips and interviewed dozens of individuals in order to solve the murders of the students.
Scott Green, president of the University of Idaho, stated at a press conference on Sunday that many students have left campus prior to Thanksgiving break and do not wish to return.
After discovering the crime, police initially stated that there was no threat to the community, but later recanted and urged people to be vigilant.
The Post has contacted Moscow police for comment on the animal murders.