50k reward!

The myth of the genius homicide investigator is nice for novels and teevee shows, but is generally fiction. Most homicides are either so obvious that they require little investigation, or are solved by a specific tip like "I saw a guy get into a car that had this plate." Or, "I heard Janelle's cousin did it." Or, "Can the DA give me a break on this GTA if I tell you something I heard about that shooting in Englewood last Tuesday?" Granted, the tip used to be called in rather than posted for clout on Reddit, but the point remains the same.

There is no doubt that forensics do solve some crimes. Or more accurately, the forensics may provide the evidence needed for conviction. But the times when detective work and forensics actually discover the perp on their own is surely less than 1% of the murder cases.

The Flock cameras need attention on their own. This is a fast-growing network of cameras that are sold to the public on the basis of enhancing safety. And perhaps in this case, they were part of the solution. But there are now complaints from all over the country where the Flock cameras are being used to track down women seeking reproductive care, Trump's good going after immigrants, etc. But it is not just "bad guys" the cameras are used for. There are cases where law enforcement people used the cameras to track and stalk an ex-girlfriend.

The Flock business case is less about public safety and more about selling data about anybody and everybody to the Big Data corporations. If you drive a car, and live in (or pass through) a large metro area, there is a very high probability that your movements are tracked by Flock cameras, and that data has already been sold to a Big Data company.

that "John" is homeless.

I had wondered why he didn't just call police. As we all know, homelessness is increasingly treated as a crime. I don't wonder why he didn't just call the police now.