Metro police would rather work in those current conditions, without the media breathing down their neck and with more control over what is known.

Yet, this investigation is the biggest here in decades, and has captured the attention of the same people the LMPD is sworn to serve. So, there is a conscious effort by police to release just enough information so the concerned public is reassured that police are diligent.

To that end, at 1:30pm on Thursday, July 26, Lt. Col Tim Emington will brief the media on the investigation. It's the first time police have met with the reporter gaggle since the sealed search warrant affidavit was mistakenly released to the media. Given the police frustration with how some media did not curtail their coverage to protect the investigation, I will be very interested to hear what information he will reveal.

For that matter, police and the media have a symbiotic relationship, so some information that is even "inadvertently" released is part of a larger strategy by police.

Because I anchor weekend newscasts, I will not be at the Thursday news conference, but I hope my colleagues ask a few questions that concern me:

1) With no official cause of death listed on Ivan's death certificate ("unknown means,")
does that in any way hamper the investigation and/or the ability of police to charge someone with "murder?"
2) Will police now tell us if Ivan was sexually assaulted or if they suspect he was sexually assaulted? (I highly doubt they will answer these questions, but they beg to be asked). Police have said that they are awaiting forensics tests in this investigation. Are the DNA tests being conducted by the KSP Crime Lab to determine or confirm who sexually assaulted Ivan?
3) How many pieces of evidence have been collected, and how many have been sent to the crime lab? What is the nature of the evidence?
4) How many search warrants and consensual searches has LMPD conducted in this case? Have any searches been conducted since last Tuesday in the common areas of Cecil New's apartment building?
5) Have police been in contact with Cecil New since last week? Are they concerned for his safety?

In the mean time, Rosa Cano is still waiting to hear from U.S. Customs Enforcement if she will be allowed back into the country if she goes to Guatemala to bury her son,. She plans to be in Guatemala several weeks. Ivan's body remains at Arch L. Heady funeral home.