anneasquith...I have only just seen your post of 21.35 last night.
Elephant in the room..."An important and obvious topic, which everyone present is aware of, but which isn't discussed, as such discussion is considered to be uncomfortable"
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/elephant-in-the-room.html
It is sometimes used in the context of the "troubles" in Northern Ireland. Everybody is aware of the problem but studiously ignores it.
This little lads Mother was always going to be a prime suspect, along with the Father, and it now looks, this Saturday morning, as if it is indeed the case.
I understand that the Police have a very difficult job to do under these tragic circumstances, but I suspect that whatever they were saying in public, they were aware of the possibility of the unthinkable.
I remember those crocodile tears that the Philpots cried in their Press Conference, and I suspect that is the reason why we didn't see a similar event in Edinburgh.