I think there are a few people who would disagree that JW has received much attention. And I'm also not sure his actions, texts, his parents, everything has been thoroughly examined. Seems like every time his name comes up, people want to redirect attention back to 5N.
Example:
Hmm...that thing JW did was strange. BUT OMG ... let's get back to 5N.
I don't mean just posters on here either. I mean LE, investigators, friends and family, a lot of people seem to have that mindset. I'd suggest it might help to examine JW's potential involvement without shading it because one thinks someone else is more likely to be guilty. Just take an objective view of everything as though there were no other POI's to consider.
THE CASE AGAINST JW
Point #1
First, he has no alibi for the night in question. This of course does not make him guilty, but it does not allow for him to be ruled out, either.
Point #2
Second, motive. He had posted something about "an urge to kill" in the days or weeks before Lauren disappeared. She started hanging out with and flirting with CR around that time. Are the two events related? Seems very possible. Jealous lover / ex-lover is the most common motive of them all.
Point #3
Third, we arrive at the night in question. JW says he was watching a basketball game and then stayed at home all night. His dad *clumsily* tries to corroborate his son's whereabouts, but mentions something about a Knick's game. The problem is that the Knick's season had been over for more than a month. Meanwhile, Lauren was out with another guy that night. What was the reason she suddenly became romantically interested in CR? Had her and JW broken up? Were they having problems, perhaps one of those long-term on-again-off-again relationships? Maybe she just couldn't help herself? Maybe the crowd they ran with were so hedonistic that basically, anything goes? Or maybe JW cheated on her, and she just wanted revenge? Again it's not for anyone to judge, but however sordid personal details are during an investigation is irrelevant, it's important to get the unfiltered facts. Nobody deserves to be killed or left to die no matter what was going on.
Point #4
Fourth, what did JW know about Lauren and CR being together? Did he not know at all, and only found out the day she disappeared? Did he know and didn't care? Did he know and he was fuming raging jealously mad? It seems very unlikely to me that he did not know. How can I be sure of this? Because an inattentive boyfriend would not call Lauren the next day, find out she left her phone at the bar, and then immediately run around town looking for her. Those are the actions of someone who is either legitimately concerned; or possessive and controlling; or acting.
But not inattentive ... no way. An inattentive boyfriend who had no clue what Lauren was up to sometimes would have usually waited for her to call him first, and only become concerned after an overly long time had passed without hearing from her. If an inattentive boyfriend did happen to call her first, he certainly would not have inconvenienced himself to go looking for her right away, again unless an overly long time had passed and he had no other choice.
Given his actions the next day, whether sincere or acted, there's absolutely no chance that JW didn't know what Lauren was up to all the time in my opinion. No chance. He knew exactly who she was with that night, exactly what their relationship to her was, etc. Any suggestion JW made otherwise would be immediately flagged as a lie in my book.
Point #5
Fifth, JW reported her missing. A lot of people have expressed the opinion that he was awfully quick to jump to that conclusion. It would be helpful if someone could post exactly everything he did searching for her before he called police. Were his actions reasonable and consistent with someone who was surprised or angry and concerned? Why do I underline those words? Well, as I mentioned there's no chance in my opinion that JW didn't know who Lauren was with the previous night. If he was fine with it, and didn't expect anything to be out of the ordinary, then his behavior the next day (and his actions) should have been very, very consistent with someone who was surprised, and then expressing growing concern (not immediate concern). On the other hand, if he had reason to not approve of Lauren and CR being together, then his behavior and actions should still have expressed some degree of initial surprise or disbelief, but anger and concern would have been much quicker to follow.
(Think of him saying "I knew it! I knew something bad would happen if she went with that guy!")
In summary, were his actions and demeanor on the following day consistent with his appraisal of the situation? If there are inconsistencies, JW would come further under the microscope.
Point #6
Sixth, he called his father and told him about Lauren being missing. Did he call the Spierers first? Did he call them ever? It would be REALLY weird in my opinion for him to call his own family before calling Lauren's. I remember a situation in college when my girlfriend had drank something or taken something before I picked her up one night, and she became very sick that night at my room. I was really close to taking her to the hospital and calling HER parents, not mine. The thought wouldn't have even crossed my mind. Maybe he did call Lauren's parents first, but if he didn't that would be really fishy to me.
Point #7
Seventh, JW's father immediately joined him in Bloomington. How soon did he arrive? Did he arrive before Lauren's parents, and how does that happen? Did JW only call his father and not call them (fishy), or did AW have his own plane and Lauren's parents had to make flight arrangements?
In any case, missing person's cases are often resolved in a day, without anything bad happening. Let's imagine AW receiving a phone call from his son, that Lauren was missing. It would be pretty normal for AW to express concern, ask his son to keep him informed, and within x amount of time, if Lauren still hadn't turned up, maybe fly out to Indiana. Any other reaction would be ridiculous, right? How stupid would it be for AW to drop work, fly out to Indiana, and upon landing get a call from his son that Lauren was over at a friend's with a hangover, or with another guy, or just out shopping?
How soon was too soon for AW to leave for Bloomington, and did he go there "too soon" or not?
Point #8
Eighth, JW and his father AW confronted CR at 5N, and some kind of altercation or near-altercation ensued. To me, this always seemed way too dramatic and over the top, but let's assume for a minute that it was all genuine, that JW believed CR was responsible, he was trying to get answers, etc. If that were the case, then here you have a young man trying desperately to find his girlfriend who has gone missing ... but then just a short time later he gives up and leaves town. What?
Those actions are inconsistent and to me, makes it seem much more likely that he was once again acting, directing his rage and jealously at CR, and trying to pin the blame on him.
Point #9
Ninth, as I mentioned JW left town and quickly gave up and made no further efforts to help find Lauren. I get it that he was told not to participate in the searches, but that's still not the actions of a concerned boyfriend. He then clammed up to investigators, changed his name on social media, and basically tried to disassociate himself from everything. Are those the actions of a concerned boyfriend? Or does it not make his "concerned" actions of that first day seem all the more an act?
Point #10
Finally, as Lauren's disappearance persisted, what has come from JW and his family? They claim he passed a privately administered lie detector test, but he refuses to take one from the actual investigators, because his mom thinks they're "not very adept at anything except giving kids drinking tickets...I don't trust them, period." Isn't that like offering to do a take-home test, but not willing to take one in class?
His parents also called the Spierers "liars". Their daughter is missing and presumed dead. What kind of people say such things? Even if you don't like someone, or think they are in the wrong, given the situation, you would think a more pc statement would have been in order.
Oh but that's right. JW and his family didn't want to make a pc statement, they wanted to slander Lauren and her family so that the public and media might lose interest in her story.
Seems pretty classy. Seems like JW has some great parents who undoubtedly raised him well and therefore he could never have done something awful like harm another person.