[MarkWar]

>If Westerfield had been really, really smart, he would have talked to the cops for a few hours...

In some stories of past cases involving pedophiles, especially where there are allegations of organized kiddie sex activity, I've read that there are rumors of contacts and info leaks from within local police forces.

Could this be the way "fellow travelers" in that world give each other a hand (so to speak). That is, some guy gets caught, but one or two cops who might share his proclivities will happen to have a "lapse of judgement" which is just a blot on their record, but could cause a serious flaw in the case against the guy on trial?

It would be interesting for some talented private investigator to reconnoiter the homes of those two cops who had made the gaffe and see if they had any material similar to what was found at Westerfield's house...

Mark W.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

I was thinking along the same lines. They couldn't be screwing up this case more if they tried. Are they trying?

[Plummz]

I was thinking something similar, but along the lines of "swinger cops."

If this *was* a pedophile ring, your theory is perfectly plausible. Another theory posted here posited that the girl died when her parents accidentally ODed her "sleeping medicine" they use to free up the evenings.