I'm fairly sure LE would've been able to get a lot of meta data from the big tech companies and know more, including who created the accounts.
Unless this guy used a VPN on his phone, and all other devices he might have logged into the accounts, there's a high probability that LE have an IP address. And they certainly have the tools to link an IP address back to the guy's internet service provider, in turn giving them access to the user's personal details.
What does an IP address tell you and how it can put you at risk
https://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-way-to-legally-trace-social-media-accounts-to-an-IP-address
I'm sure they have a guy in their sights and have released this info to: (i) either get more witnesses to generate leads of inquiry that they can follow to build a stronger case, OR (ii) to put pressure on this guy to do something to implicate himself directly.
Reminds me of a recent breakthrough of the murder or Russell Hill and Carol Clay here in Australia. For over 18 months there was no progress on the case, then about 6 weeks ago LE released images of a blue vehicle asking the public to come forward for more information if they've seen the vehicle, pretending they don't know who the driver was.
4 weeks later they arrested a guy. Turns out they knew exactly who the driver was when they released the information to the public - they had their eyes on all his movements (listening devices all over, etc.). The strategy was to release the info about his car to the public and track his responses to see how he reacts to the extra pressure, to see if he does anything else to implicate himself more....
I think this is what's happening here. Or at least, I hope this is what's happening here...
Totally agree with the above. They know who it is. Think about the risk / reward ratio of releasing this information if they don't already know everything they need to know: how many people, realistically, are going to remember chatting to this profile four / five years ago? LE would already have followed up on every IG account he's following in private. Anyone else remembering anything is unlikely, so the "reward" chances are low. Conversely, there's the "risk" that the killer deletes his accounts and destroys evidence. If they don't know who it is, that risk isn't worth it.
LE will know this. They're provoking a reaction.
A possible reason for the night time announcement: get the killer to see it when they wake up, and they react when they're least likely to think clearly. At the same time, if he saw it at night before going to bed, any suspicious activity at that time of night stands out as even more suspicious to a partner / spouse.