I can't help but wonder at the timing of all of this.
The property changed hands and the new owners took possession mid October.
Two weeks later, there is a big police investigation.
Anyone think someone started talking ?
Maybe someone didn't get their fair share?
Did the new owner find something suspicious?
No, I don't think there's anything "sudden" here, nor anything unusual about the timeline. From what has been reported, we know that NH was first reported missing in winter 2015. Police undoubtedly thought the story was odd, possibly suspicious (given such a long period of time passing), but may have had no initial reason to suspect foul play. Elective disappearance, as of a runaway, or relocation to Jordan or elsewhere, were possibilities, and these were followed up on, probably in a low-priority manner, at least at first. Getting information and tracking down people abroad is time-consuming and often leads to dead ends. While doing this, they were also checking out whether NH appeared in any SIN databases, OHIP and the like. All of this could easily have taken the best part of a year.
Along the way, we may infer, one or another of the family members who were more cooperative gave information that led them to believe a homicide had occurred. It's unlikely anyone said so outright, but piecing together various clues could have led investigators to this conclusion. There was obviously a deliberate veil of secrecy over the whole affair, and many may not have been willing to talk at all, others might have been afraid to do so. It's my guess that whoever shared the most useful information was someone now far removed from the mother in Jordan and any other particularly powerful family members; probably someone still here in Canada.
The sale of the property took place last March, but if the sellers were in Jordan, as appears to be the case, the paperwork and various legalities could have taken months to work out; in addition, for all we know the buyer had difficulty raising the cash, or, the sale may have been contingent upon his selling a property of his own. These would have made the closing date a longer period of time than the more usual 90 days.
So, the deal closed earlier this month, but the buyer has not moved in, and does not plan to do so - he is going to tear down the existing house (the buildings appear to be in very rough shape); it's highly unlikely he "noticed something." Rather, the police were waiting for the new owner to take possession in order to get permission to do the thorough search they have planned, and in searching the house, to rip up floors or walls if need be. While it would not have been impossible to get a court order with the property still in limbo,it would be highly unusual - such a move would be likely only in cases where (for instance) kidnapped people were reported to be held, or a similar emergency.
So they have put together the search teams and investigators after getting the needed permissions from the new owner, who has only been the new owner for a couple of weeks. They were doubtless planning to do this but could not finalize their plans until the transfer of the property was complete.
There's no reason to think someone "started talking" just recently; but obviously they have had input from one or several key people in the past 8 months or so. As for someone "not getting their share," there's no suggestion that this is a situation where money is a factor, nor that anyone stood to profit from NH's death.
But if something criminal *did* go down, it's likely several, or all, of the siblings knew about it, but may not have all reacted the same way (some feeling it was justified, others perhaps appalled but frightened). In the Shafia killings of the three teenaged girls and their "aunt" by their father and older brother in Kingston a few years back, the younger children in the family knew what had happened. They denied it of course, but police had recorded the phone calls between the older brother (who did the killing) and the younger brother, and it was clear the younger one, aged around 10 at the time, knew exactly what was going on and what his brother had done. He even said, "H., you are 100% caught!" but then he denied everything on the witness stand.
If evidence is found, it's unlikely there will be charges laid so long after the deed, and it's also likely the perpetrator, if there is one (or more) is no longer in Canada.
