>>But I bet you were quick to jump at this guy as the murderer<<
Ahhh.... no. I did, however, think he was more likely to be involved than the parents.
>>Innocent people don't run out and hire lawyers and publicists<<
This is flat out BS. I don't know anything about publicists, but I'd always recommend anyone hire an attorney if there is any suspicion. Also, many people already have attorneys and ask them to speak for them in these sorts of situation. Then, people like you accuse them of hiring an attorney, signally that they are guilty. This is just idiotic.
When a child dies in its own home, the cops HAVE to start with the people who had access to the child. They start by CLEARING them, so the investigation can move on to the next outward circle.
The Ramseys could NOT be cleared. They investigated nearly 400 more people, anyway - but the whole case was already compromised because the inner circle refused to cooperate in finding their own child's killer.
Instead, they went on CNN 5 days later!