[wideminded]

And as for the timeline, yes, it would take several days to snail a real copy of the letter, but even way back in '97 we had technology that would let us send an image of the letter. The cops would not have sent the actual letter, they'd keep the original for forensics for months.

"Look at this letter we found on the body. Hurry up and send it to this FAX number in Gaza."

[DBrow]

"Look at this letter we found on the body. We found his next-of-kin in Gaza, let's send it to them along with a list of his personal effects. We need to contact them anyway, and if we behave in a friendly way, we may learn something."