Sorry to hear it was so serious. All the more reason the 'chap' should have kept his opinions to himself. If he had any relevant information, he should have reported it to the police, rather than discuss it in public.
Regarding the spelling - here's another one you might like to remember. When I was supervising a pool of secretaries, one particular girl could never remember how to spell 'criticism', until I said think of 'critic' and add 'ism'.
It makes me smile to think how well she remembered it. As several years later, sadly, I met her again at her husband's funeral, and the first thing she said when she saw me after the funeral, was, "I can still spell criticism".
Thought that might give you a smile.