Here are a couple reasons:
1. Someone could give false statements based on knowing when and where these events occurred
2. The media bombarding the manager/employees at the convenience store or bank would suck

I mean, they keep getting calls into their crime center but not much has come out of it: now that there's a $25,000 reward, people could pop out of the woodwork making shit up if they knew all the details.

3/10/2008 6:56:33 PM

^yup, that's it. I imagine many people think it's because "cops are dicks", or possibly "out of respect for the family", or something. I think the strategy of investigation is interesting, and how integral the media is as part of that strategy. They release photos to prompt eye-witnesses, and use time/location information to very quickly weed out the good leads from the bogus ones. A bogus lead will make absolutely no sense at all if it doesn't fit in to a timeline or map of known information. You could almost route crimestopper calls directly in to a computer, tag tip-offs with time/location information, and let the computer solve the crime--or at least print out a very detailed map and timeline.

I didn't consider the media hounding the convenience store, that would be a mess, especially if the witnesses actually talk! The media is probably under obligation to get all of their information from the police.

One way to know where the convenience store is located: the employee on staff that night is on holiday and a police officer is on guard there during open hours.

[Edited on March 10, 2008 at 7:11 PM. Reason : lalala]

3/10/2008 7:07:46 PM

they dont want to release the time stamp because the second they do, the investigation is over.

its like american idol.

you keep the people interested until the very end.

[Edited on March 10, 2008 at 7:47 PM. Reason : durr idol]

3/10/2008 7:23:56 PM

Idol

3/10/2008 7:43:18 PM

i thought he was trying to make a pun of sorts.
.... American Idle, which is what we are when we watch it

3/10/2008 8:04:02 PM

im stuck in gear head knowledge.

3/10/2008 8:11:55 PM

^^^^ That would make sense if this case was being used for entertainment. The reason it's "drawn out" has more to do with information processing. They release a photo, get a flood of phone calls from eye-witnesses discussing that particular piece of information, and once the phone calls have died out, they go on to the next photo. This is done for a couple of reasons:

1.) To keep staff focusing on one problem at-a-time and only concentrating on as much evidence as they can handle

2.) To keep the public (potential eye witnesses) focused on one piece of evidence at-a-time so that the information they provide is as pure as possible

It's easy to think that the media extravaganza is akin to a reality TV show, and in some respects it definitely is, but what I find very interesting is the use of media as an investigation tool.

3/10/2008 8:43:46 PM

3.) I'm guessing there's a heavy amount of pre-processing which goes on before releasing each bit of information. Before release they ask themselves, "Which of the hundreds of tidbits of information should we release? What information are we trying to retrieve from the release of this piece of evidence to the public? Has the release of this information been cleared by all necessary officials, lawyers, etc. so no one loses their job or life resulting from the release of this information?"

3/10/2008 9:14:21 PM

Yeah, having everybody look at one picture for a few days then another picture for a few days seems to me like a better idea than putting both pictures out to begin with--people wouldn't look as much at either picture in the end.

[Edited on March 10, 2008 at 9:17 PM. Reason : spellage]

3/10/2008 9:17:02 PM

damn so are yall saying they know more than we do?

3/10/2008 9:17:56 PM

I'm waiting for a statement issued by Jesse Jackson saying she was "asking for it," or something along those lines.

3/10/2008 10:59:23 PM

Do we have the death penalty?

And do you think, if caught, that guy(s) will get it?

[Edited on March 10, 2008 at 11:25 PM. Reason : .]

3/10/2008 11:22:59 PM

death penalty or not, this kid(s) gonna die

3/10/2008 11:24:21 PM

Quote :

"I'm waiting for a statement issued by Jesse Jackson saying she was "asking for it," or something along those lines."

i am amazed at how delusional some people are. i think jesse has a few issues, nowhere near as many as sharpton... but i don't think either of them would come out and praise this if the trigger man turns out to be a black dude. gimme a break

3/10/2008 11:29:24 PM

tey wont praise but they will make excuses


i promise you that, theyll probably rally in support or some shit

3/10/2008 11:37:32 PM

well... it seems that this guy has already been convicted (and sentenced to death) by about half of white america. which is pretty fucking sad, since using a stolen atm card is likely something that you can go on probation for (and never spend a day in jail. its just not that 'bad' a crime.. ive seen plenty of people plead guilty to financial card fraud/theft and get light probation)

one picture of a black dude goes up and so many people are like OMG TOLD U IT WAS A JIGABOO@@! but no one really has a clue where he got it. right now, when comparing the possibility of where he got the card, its just as likely that he bought the card.

i guess part of it is that 2 of my biggest pet peeves are racists and people who jump to conclusions and dont let the justice system do its job first.

i think this is pretty good evidence that young black males have a legit reason to fear the system and the police. and juries.

3/10/2008 11:50:37 PM

Quote :

"i think this is pretty good evidence that young black males have a legit reason to fear the system and the police. and juries."

My heart goes out to the young black males that buy stolen ATM cards at 5:00 AM and then try to use them. Clearly they have nothing to do with anything.

That's not racist, but generally the guy who tries to use her ATM card while her dead body is still warm is involved.

3/11/2008 2:24:16 AM

^I know right. And he was in her car, or one that is identical to it. if he is innocent wherenthe fuck is he? why would he be hiding.

3/11/2008 6:33:27 AM

If you commit a crime, then yes, you better be scared as hell of the justice system

3/11/2008 6:48:48 AM

Quote :

"i think this is pretty good evidence that young black males have a legit reason to fear the system and the police. and juries."

while i agree with a lot of other things you have said in here, i think this is a little absurd. if that IS her car and he was using her ATM card, he would have to be a complete idiot to not turn himself in for just committing those crimes now if hes not the killer. otherwise if those two things are correct then i think it is fair and legitimate, regardless of race, to assume he is the prime suspect at this point in time.

It is also fair game to assume someone who has already committed crimes to be a suspect in a case. you put yourself in that position usually, not the media.

Quote :

"If you commit a crime, then yes, you better be scared as hell of the justice system"

3/11/2008 7:03:11 AM

New pictures of the suspect using the ATM in a convenient store

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2550588/

3/11/2008 8:01:23 AM

3/11/2008 9:08:26 AM

Quote :

"right now, when comparing the possibility of where he got the card, its just as likely that he bought the card."

and the SUV he was in, did he buy that too?

possibly, sure. likely? well, given the time of death given by the ME and the time of the ATM transaction, he may not have killed her, but he likely may know something more than just "uh, i bought an atm card off my holmes"

3/11/2008 9:13:05 AM

Wait the police is saying thats the same guy from the SUV?

He doesnt look anything like the other dude.

3/11/2008 9:13:48 AM

A fucking gang banger from durham got lost in raleigh.

3/11/2008 9:15:06 AM

is that supposed to be the guy from the backseat or something?

i mean, i'm sure the cops know where all the card was used that night, so its not like they're just pulling up random people

3/11/2008 9:24:56 AM

Quote :

"The man in the photo appears to be the same person who was driving a sport-utility vehicle in bank ATM surveillance photos that police released Saturday morning, Curran said"

3/11/2008 9:28:32 AM

Even so, they're investigating the "second person" in the backseat if you watch the WRAL video clips.

[Edited on March 11, 2008 at 9:34 AM. Reason : .]

3/11/2008 9:34:28 AM

These two jokers would probably get caught hiding in some basement in Durham.

Then there will be a trial, they will be convicted, and send away for life.

3/11/2008 9:37:21 AM

Quote :

"i think this is pretty good evidence that young black males have a legit reason to fear the system and the police. and juries."

retarded potm

3/11/2008 11:24:27 AM

i agree to an extent regarding the young black males comment. it is sad that young black males may have to fear unjustice and bias in the system. its horrible really. but whats the percentage of incarcerated black males? isn't it something ridiculous? and if you just look at the culture as whole...striving to be "hard" and live some amazing thug life. it just perpetuates crime. and yes, it does suck that if these people just stole her atm card (however fucked up that is in its own right) and had nothing to do with the murder---theres definitely a possibility that they/he/whomever is scared to come forward because right now we've already all convicted him. imagine how well things would go for him??? not well...which is sad IF IF IF IF he had nothing to do with the murder. if anyone ever sees this guy, a lynch mob is going to run after him; and we don't even know all the facts yet. he'll probably be dead before we even know what actually happened. so yes, maybe black males do have something to fear in the justice system. but at the same time, maybe they've (or their peers) have helped put themselves in that unfortunate situation.

(and they aren't the only ones that have helped perpetuate an unfairness in the system. i, personally, think it has a lot to do with poverty and education etc etc and a bunch of other social factors. its just a vicious cycle i guess)

[Edited on March 11, 2008 at 11:36 AM. Reason : .]

3/11/2008 11:34:14 AM

if he had nothing to do with the murder he shouldnt be afraid to come forward. and, lets assume he didnt murder her, if he hadnt used a stolen debit card and possibly a stolen car he wouldnt be in this situation in the first place.

3/11/2008 11:37:13 AM

see, i think he does have something to fear if he didn't murder her and does come forward. everyone in america has already hung him. and yes, i think everyone agrees that using a stolen debit card and stolen car wasn't the smartest, regardless of whether he killed her or not. however, if he did kill her, i guess we should be thankful that he was stupid enough to try to use her debit card.

3/11/2008 11:45:02 AM

Why do people think so positively?

"oh, maybe he found a debt card on the sidewalk with the pincode written on it. He also hasn't had anything to eat for three days. So he took the card and went to a gas station to purchase himself a nice sandwich and a bottle of coke. He meant no harm."

I am sure that scenario is very common.

3/11/2008 11:48:58 AM

i don't think that is what happened. but there is a concept in america known as innocent until proven guilty. our justice system MIGHT have been founded on it, but i don't know. maybe not. i'm totally not saying he's innocent at all, i'm just saying no one knows all the facts yet. obvi things aren't looking good for him. which is probably WHY he isn't out walking around being like "yo what up guys, here i am." i mean if he was stupid enough to kill someone for their debit card, he's probably not rational enough to turn himself in. anyway i was mostly just commenting on jacklegs black male/justice system comment above.

3/11/2008 11:51:49 AM

If he killed her before taking her debit card, he'd have had to just hope that she didn't lie. Usually when there's a robbery involving a debit card, they take the victim to the ATM machine and make them withdraw at gunpoint. It seems strange to get the debit card, kill her, and then go try the ATM machine. If she lied, or he forgets the code, the person who knows it is dead, and now you have a murder charge on you.

If he found or otherwise acquired the debit card without killing her, why would he bother to go the ATM machine? He's got no clue what the PIN is. About the only place he can use it is at a gas pump, or hope he can run it as a credit card at a store or something.

or maybe he really is that much of a dumbass.

3/11/2008 12:57:14 PM

Practically any debit card can be ran as credit so that would have been his best bet..

but I think the key statement you made was

Quote :

"or maybe he really is that much of a dumbass."

3/11/2008 12:58:57 PM

Quote :

"or maybe he really is that much of a dumbass."

i think it's impossible to underestimate the stupidity of someone who is willing to kill another person for money

3/11/2008 1:07:02 PM

The thing that makes me pause on that is that the idiot behavior isn't consistent.

The debit card shenanigans were beyond stupid.

Abandoning the car was smart. I would think that if he was stupid enough to take the card to an ATM, either not knowing the PIN, or not knowing for sure that he has the correct PIN, then he'd be dumb enough to try to liquidate the car.

(presumably) not leaving any prints was smart -- presumably if he did, they'd know who he was. I can't imagine this guy doesn't already have some sort of a record. Going from zero to murder would be an impressive debut for a criminal.

Being that much of a dumbass, how is he still able to stay in hiding?

This whole thing is just really weird. I guess we'll find out eventually.

3/11/2008 1:09:37 PM

Quote :

"some basement in Durham Chapel Hill"

3/11/2008 1:12:46 PM

Quote :

"Being that much of a dumbass, how is he still able to stay in hiding? "

well even an idiot should know to get the fuck out of town and set up shop out of state somewhere....

3/11/2008 1:19:44 PM

Quote :

"I would think that if he was stupid enough to take the card to an ATM, either not knowing the PIN, or not knowing for sure that he has the correct PIN, then he'd be dumb enough to try to liquidate the car. "

not to mention the common fact that ATM's have surveillance cameras...whether he killed her or not, he knew he was driving a stolen car and using a stolen ATM card. the guy is a dumbass

3/11/2008 1:21:16 PM

yeah, I'm just unable to walk a mile in drunknloaded's brain.

3/11/2008 1:24:32 PM

"yo holmes let me get that pack of newports and that 40 of highlife; i foo real named eve"

3/11/2008 1:46:06 PM

so what are we talking about here? Is it that maybe since he is so freely using her card, he might not have thought it was the card of a girl who was just murdered? Thus - that guy didn't murder her?

interesting

3/11/2008 2:01:00 PM

^good point, but he more than likely knows some important information relating to the investigation, andd therefore needs to come forward

3/11/2008 2:21:45 PM

Rumblings from CHPD are that they have this guy's name already, they're just trying to find him and don't want to "compromise the investigation" by revealing it.

Republican18 or anyone else in law enforcement -- is it usual procedure not to reveal a name if you have it? What's the rationale for that? I'd figure it would make it easier to find somebody...

3/11/2008 2:22:06 PM

well, some airtight policework there...

3/11/2008 2:24:45 PM

Well as far as I know it's nothing but conjecture. I was just complaining to a friend in the department that he always said statistically the odds of solving a murder drop like a stone after the first week, his response was essentially to stfu b/c they knew who the guy was and it was just a matter of time.

Since it's a multi-jurisdiction investigation I don't know if he knows something or if he was just speculating ::shrug:: that's why I asked if withholding a suspect's name (or a "person of interest") was common practice  

3/11/2008 2:56:12 PM

Maybe they know the name of the guy in the pictures, but they don't want to reveal it to the public until they are sure that he actually did it. If they reveal his name now, regardless of whether or not the guy is innocent, his name will always be associated with this case.

3/11/2008 3:08:02 PM