tzatza

The case is still open, it hasn’t been closed since the police last re-opened it. And after re-opening it they reiterated that they believe it was done by someone who knew the victim well. So as long as it’s open who knows how it could end, maybe they’ll make an arrest in a few months, in a few years, whenever.

By the way, standard police interviews rely heavily on people sharing their hunches, observations about who seemed “off,” or theories about possible motives. If halacha forbids this type of speculation, then even cooperative witnesses would appear uncooperative and traditional detective work becomes impossible regardless of police competence. Extensive resources were deployed precisely because these normal investigative shortcuts (community tips, suspicious person reports, motive theories from witnesses) were unavailable due to religious prohibition of pointing the finger at someone without proof. This case’s difficulty was a function of unique religious barriers rather than investigative failure or a flawed theory. One of the reasons they re-opened it now is because they are hoping the former students are now more mature and maybe some of them will want to share what they knew.

Even the FBI got involved and made a psychological profile of the killer who they said is “someone who knew him well” and who probably was the same age. The archive is behind a paywall but you can read an extract here https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/724776629/

Why are you surprised at the new interest? If you’re thinking people will just go away and forget about this case, you can think again. It’s going to be shoved in your face every now and then until it’s solved and there’s nothing you can do about it.