Dodele Murder: An Inconvenient Truth?

Michael Dodele, age 61, was murdered November 20 in Lake County California. His alleged assailant was Garcia Oliver, 29, who lived in the same trailer park. In contention is Oliver's motivation in the brutal knife attack. Many suspect Oliver to have been motivated to kill Dodele after learning that Dodele was listed on California's Registered Sex Offender website. Others are denying that this was a factor in Dodele's murder, including some public officials.

This raises a question: are police investigators and District Attorneys (most of whom favor "Megan's Law" websites and "name and shame" flyers) less likely to publicize the motivation of an accused assailant when their investigations turn up evidence that "community notification" may have provided the impetus to commit a murder? Are we less likely to learn these details than if it were any other "straightforward" murder?

-Allan Marshall