WATCH: Father of Idaho Murder Victim Weighs in After Suspect is Arrested
Steve Goncalves, father of Idaho Kaylee Goncalves, the murder victim, stated Friday that the news of an arrest in the case brought him some joy.
It had been over a month since Kaylee and Ethan Chapin (21; Xana Kernodle (20; Madison Mogen (21) were murdered at their home on November 13). A SWAT team made the arrest It is approximately 2,400 miles away from the crime scene in Monroe County’s Pocono Mountains.
“To me and my family, it feels like the first joy that we have had in seven days because it really is,” He stated. “You can’t even smile when you have this over your head. And it feels like a little bit of weight has been relieved, and things are on the right track, and we’re moving in the right direction.”
“I want to commend those police officers in everything that they have done, because it has been very difficult to work with all the media, especially me being so vocal,” He went on. “I think it’s gotten better. And I really appreciate that they have made some adjustments for our family. And we have noticed those things.”
Goncalves stated that Idaho’s community is “real” That people in this part of the country stay together.
“This is not our new normal. We’re not going to allow this messaging to be our new normal, and we’re going to put our foot down, and we’re going to pull in every resource that we can. We have nothing to hide,” He stated. “If we have to pull in forces because we’re close to a location that jurisdictions are there, we’re still going to come together and unify for this. And I really feel like that’s what happened.”
KATIE PAVLICH, FOX NEWS HOOST: Kaylee Goncalves’ father, Steve Goncalves, is now joining us.
Steve, we are so grateful that you took the time to join us today.
This is your first reaction to hearing that a suspect had been arrested.
STEVE GONCALVES FATHER OF VICTIM : It feels like the first joy we’ve had in seven days to me and my family.
You can’t even smile when you have this over your head. And it feels like a little bit of weight has been relieved, and things are on the right track, and we’re moving in the right direction.
PAVLICH What did they leave out that you wished the public would know about?
GONCALVES: You know, I — the whole struggle of communication and everything has gotten better every step of the way.
I am proud of the police officers who have done so much, it was very difficult to collaborate with all the media, and especially me, being so vocal.
I think it’s gotten better. They have made adjustments for us, which I appreciate. These things have been noticed by us.
LAWRENCE JONES, FOX NEWS ANALYST – Steve, I was telling my colleagues that there had been a change in tone from you today as we received the good news that the suspect was indeed captured.
When we were speaking earlier today, you noticed that this guy wasn’t from Moscow. He was an outsider.
GONCALVES: Yes.
Idaho has a strong community. Idaho stood firm. And I wanted a part. We’re not going to allow this messaging to be our new normal, and we’re going to put our foot down, and we’re going to pull in every resource that we can. There is nothing to hide.
If we have to pull in forces because we’re close to a location that jurisdictions are there, we’re still going to come together and unify for this. And I really feel like that’s what happened.
I mean, there was some forces that pulled us apart, but, in the end, we all, we all — we all came together. We have a celebration today of life. And we hope that we will have someone in custody who is a person or interest.
And, of course, he’s innocent until proven guilty, but that’s a lot better off than we were 48 hours ago.
JONES: Steve. Why is it so important to hold a memorial service not only for Kaylee but also for Maddie today?
With this being the day that it is, why did you guys decide to — you’re going to push through and you’re going to have this service, this celebration of life for your daughters?
GONCALVES – It was very important that we had
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