Psychology is really weird. When I was around the age of these college kids, I observed what was surely a fatal accident up ahead of me while driving. I was traveling north and saw a truck that was traveling south tumble down an embankment between the two roadways, ejecting and rolling over some occupants. My brain knew I must have just seen people being killed. The traffic slowed and others who were closer and had left their vehicles to assist were directing traffic around/away from the scene of the accident by the time I got closer myself and I averted my gaze. Once I got to open road again, I tried to recall exactly what I had seen and found to my surprise that a cartoony version of the incident played in my mind. Literally stick figures with Xs for eyes. I had never experienced that phenomenon before and have not experienced it since. In that moment, I would have been able to report that I saw people ejected and run over by a truck, but that’s it. My brain must have been protecting me from visuals I could not handle.
I have no idea how things played out with the surviving roommates that morning. They are survivors and potential witnesses and it’s possible details have been kept vague for that reason or other reasons related to the investigation. Still, I thought I’d throw out an example of how a reporting party might have some limitations in accurately reporting the condition of an victim.