Iqaluit (Feb 10/03) - "It may take a year to solve this crime."

That's RCMP Chief Supt. John Henderson's cautious assessment of the Jennifer Naglingniq murder investigation.

While cautious about how long the investigation may take, he's firm on one belief: "It's going to be solved."

Police met with news media last week to respond to the rumours, innuendo and community frustration about the tragic Dec. 6 death of the 13-year-old.

No one is going to be arrested soon.

"I can safely say that I don't believe we are close to laying charges," says Henderson. "This sort of crime is a whodunit. I don't imagine it'll be next week, I don't imagine it'll be three or four months from now."

Naglingniq was killed in her home, but other than the first degree murder arrest Dec. 15 and subsequent staying of charges against an Iqaluit man for lack of evidence nine days later, updates on the case have been non-existent.

"This is the single most important thing going on in the division right now," says Henderson, Nunavut's top-ranking police officer.

Police will not divulge many details.

Nothing has been said, for example, about how Jennifer died, what happened the night leading up to her death, if she was alone or not, or who she was with.

Henderson says: "The best you're going to get from me is yes, we have indeed put the pieces together as far as we're aware of what happened that evening."

There is a reason for being tight-lipped, Henderson says.

"There's probably only one or two other people who really know what happened that night."

To say anything more might invite other information in the form of gossip that might jeopardize the investigation, Henderson says.

A mountain of evidence

The investigation involves a lot of RCMP resources, with 11 officers on the case.

"The requirements of our courts tell us we have to be very, very thorough," Henderson explains, motioning toward two desks covered in 20 four-inch-thick black binders.

"If you look at these binders, we have to take meticulous statements, they have to be cross-checked, analyzed -- it's a great amount of work, a great attention to detail.

"On the forensic side of things, you have to submit things to various types of laboratories: whether that's patterns of blood, how the scene was found, or any physical evidence that might be obtained.

Sometimes you might use DNA. All of these things are time-consuming, exhaustive exercises."

That means bringing in forensic specialists to back up his "hand-picked team" of investigators.

"I'm trying to give people an assurance that we do know what we're doing. We're good at what we do," Henderson says.

Killing not part of a pattern

The RCMP have heard the concerns that whoever killed Naglingniq may strike again, but insist people are safe in their homes.

"This is a single, unusual event," Henderson says.

"It's not like we have one of these every month or so. It is a tragedy that happened out of the blue. There is not a pattern."

People concerned for their own safety "should take the same precautions you would anywhere else."

But does this mean Naglingniq was singled out as a victim?

"Make no mistake: Jennifer was the victim here, but as to whether she was singled out, I'm not about to go there," Henderson says.

As for the man who was arrested, charged, then released, people should not make their own conclusions.

"Clearly, we thought we had the right guy, otherwise the charge (of first degree murder) would not have been laid. Additional information came forward that it was inappropriate to let that charge stay," Henderson says.

DNA no help

The hunger in Iqaluit for news on the case was something the RCMP know they should have fed sooner.

"If we had to do this all over again, something like this (news conference), should have been done some time ago," Henderson admits.

"It was perhaps a mistake (not to be more open about where the case is)."

He promises more frequent contact between the community through the media.

"I would say that we could use more (help from the community)," Henderson says.

"I think I can safely say there are people out there who know what happened."

The RCMP investigation has, however, interviewed "close to a hundred" people about events surrounding the death, including close family members, friends and associates, Henderson says.

"We are getting information from Crime Stoppers and the public.

Every one of those tidbits of information is tracked down, statements are obtained -- this is a massive jigsaw puzzle.

"You have to know what the pieces are that you're looking for and where they fit in the scheme of things," Henderson says.

As for using DNA evidence to point a finger at the culprit, too much can be made of it as a solution.

"The difficulty with any DNA is that you need someone to link it to. Clearly, at this stage of the game we don't have that particular individual," Henderson says.