The context is that in the past when someone was an obvious "suspect" like this dude, they called him a suspect and would treat the investigation as such. With the OJ trial, they called it racist/profiling, and a "rush to judgement." Since that case, when EVERYONE knows someone is clearly a suspect, they just started renaming it a "person of interest." That is why they treated Laundrie as a "missing person" case and not a manhunt. I'm not saying he did it, but some people get worked up that the police are targeting/profiling him. The evidence will eventually come out (or not) in trial... if there ever is one.