FINDING THE KILLER

AS THE MISSING PIECES BEGIN TO COME TOGETHER, AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATING THE GRUESOME MURDER OF FOUR COLLEGE STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO FINALLY HAVE SOME ANSWERS.

IN the weeks since four college students at the University of Idaho were found brutally stabbed to death in their off-campus home in the early morning hours of Nov 13, authorities have reportedly received more than 5,000 tips, conducted nearly 200 interviews, collected 113 pieces of evidence and taken 4,000 photographs. Still, a suspect has yet to be named and no arrests have been made. Even the murder weapon remains to be found.

There have been no substantial leads in the case, which has left the small, tight-knit town of Moscow reeling, and the families of the victims - Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20-bereft and tortured by unanswered questions.

Until now. On Dec. 7, police revealed they were searching for the driver of a white car seen on the night of the killings near where the students lived; days later, a clerk at a local gas station says she spotted the white Hyundai on surveillance footage at 3:45 a.m., around the time the murders were believed to have taken place. It's a desperately needed break that could help police finally solve the crime and find the killer more than 49 days after the bodies were found. "People won't breathe a sigh of relief until police catch the guy," a source tells Star. "And nail him to the wall."

An arrest can't come soon enough for loved ones. Steven Goncalves, Kaycee's dad, demanded answers about who killed his daughter- and why. Based upon the death certificate and his conversation with coroner Cathy Mabbutt, he revealed the victims had "big open gouges" on their bodies and Kaycee's liver and lungs had been slashed open.