The parents did not help their case by clamming up. I admit they did what most legal experts would say to do ... lawyer up. But parents in grief over a child killed usually cooperate more.
"But parents in grief over a child killed usually cooperate more."
They did cooperate. Until the cops threatened not to release the body of their dead daughter.
That would make me kinda uncooperative too.
John Ramsey said one of his friends advised him to get a good criminal lawyer. At the time he didn't think he needed one (the naive "I have nothing to hide" belief), but his friend gave him a dose of reality.
He said his friend told him they suspected them and this meant they would be fighting for their lives..
In that context, getting a lawyer was the only smart thing to do, especially knowing the authorities were looking directly at the parents and no one else.