I think people are reading too much into the "then" versus "now" sketch.
IMHO, today was carefully orchestrated by all law enforcement involved. Something has led them to firmly identify a suspect, and I do think they know who it is but can't say it, which led to this detailed sketch. I don't think they're interested in going back and explaining why they did what or how they got to this point. Something feels like it change drastically in recent time that led to them 100% believing they know who it is, and today was done to show that to the murderer.
IMHO this sketch is going to look just like the person who did it, and they're now expecting a flood of tips to come in as the person is recognized.