Why is the Oregonian protecting this guys identity? All he can do is testify now. Saying who he is does not change that at all. The sting part of the operation is over.
Release this guys name, he is an alleged criminal for not reporting the murder for higher scheme and there are people that might have seen him the day Kyron disappeared.
They should release his name and release his photo.
1) Perhaps the Oregonian would prefer not to face an expensive lawsuit when all of this guy's other clients drop him like a rock after seeing his name in the Oregonian. If he's not here illegally, that would be a very likely outcome, given that LE is obviously withholding his identity.
2) Actually, we have no idea that he didn't report Terri's murder-for-hire request to LE back when it happened. He may have done so, but told them truthfully that he had no idea if she was serious, and they may have looked at the family's lack of history of contact with LE and figured it was just a joke or misunderstanding, and dropped it. Or he may have figured she couldn't be serious, was just a nutcase, didn't end up doing any yard work for her, and never gave it another thought or even remembered (or knew) her name, until he saw her picture and home on the news in connection with Kyron's disappearance, and promptly contacted LE at that point. I have a guy who does occasional yardwork for me, who I know doesn't know my name, and who I know only as "John" -- I met him when he was doing work for a next door neighbor, and I assume he's illegal (Irish) since he always makes clear he'd prefer to be paid in cash and won't provide a mailing address for a check, even if it will mean weeks of delay in getting paid (I don't live at the property full time).
The article doesn't make at all clear how LE learned that this man had ever had any contact with Terri. He may well have come forward very early on, in response to the public appeals for tips, or he may have no longer been in the area and a former co-worker called in to LE that he'd once been to the Horman home with this landscaper he used to work for re bidding on a job, but never ended up working there. If the "landscaper" is an illegal immigrant who really just does unskilled labor, he may move around a lot in search of more work opportunities (or might even have gone to back to his home country when the economy took too much of a toll on his business).
LE also might have learned of the landscaper from a list Terri gave them of everyone who had been to the family's home in the past year (she might have voluntarily included him to avoid suspicion if he came forward independently in response to the public appeals). And then LE might have become suspicious when they interviewed Kaine and discovered he had no recollection of Terri ever having talked about hiring a landscaper, and decided it was worth tracking this guy down even if it appeared likely that he'd left the area months ago.
Just because we didn't hear about this landscaper until this morning, doesn't mean he wasn't already on LE's radar screen weeks ago, even if it may have taken them some to locate him and formally interview him. LE has certainly appeared to be a lot more focused on Terri since the very beginning, than they publicly admit to, and knowledge of something about the landscaper (even if not the whole scoop) may have been part of the reason.
