The “four to six weeks” police said it would require to get coroner’s findings resulting from an autopsy have long passed, with the department reporting “more tests” had been requested by police to follow up in the investigation. That was the situation in late February, with the Mountain Democrat publishing a story Feb. 24 that also mentioned the FBI was assisting in interviews of subjects in other states, “as a courtesy” after being contacted by Placerville police. Roman’s extended family members live in the Midwest, with his mother (who did not have custody) living in Milwaukee, Wis.
Several subsequent inquiries to the local police station have routinely resulted in a response amounting to “no new information to report, thanks for asking,” so the newspaper this week asked Placerville Police Chief James Ortega whether a brighter light could be shed on why the investigation is taking this long, why the public can’t at least be told how the boy died.
“I can understand … the community’s frustration,” said Chief Ortega in an email Thursday. “I will start by saying what we have been saying from the beginning: This is a complicated case with many moving parts. It is not an open-and-shut case.”
Ortega added that daily operations in his department have been impacted by the turmoil of the coronavirus pandemic, but he added that investigation into the passing of Roman Lopez continues.
“The case is still moving forward, but the process has been slowed by the current COVID 19 crisis,” he said in the email.
The police chief remains adamant regarding his department not releasing any new information, saying, “We are not going to discuss specifics regarding this case. When we have more to report, we will push out the appropriate public notices. That is all we have to report at this time.”
https://www.mtdemocrat.com/news/cause-of-11-year-olds-death-still-not-revealed-by-police/
More at link G-
I think the frustration for many is: no arrests have been made and LE is not releasing any information. CPS is heavily involved, and with all the minors, families in different states, FBI involvement, etc., the investigation is highly confidential.
We were told PPD was waiting on Tox results and the FBI to complete their interviews with witnesses out of state. The reasonable time frame for this to occur was months ago and prior to C-19. But now seems to be the reason for the lack of action.
Patience is a virtue ...