In all investigations, there are going to be ethical considerations, concerning the families and the memory of the victims; however when it comes to high profile cases, the highest ethical consideration is the freedom of the press. In many cases which involve a high profile suspect/victim, or if the crime is unusual, the press and media are going to wanting to know everything about the case, which can sometimes be helpful for the police. Sometimes the police will have the press interview specific people to see how they react under this form of questioning, when they have their guard down; an example of this would be when Maxine Carr was referring to Holly Marie Wells and Jessica Aimee Chapman in the past tense, even though their bodies had not been found yet. The press however is usually seen as a hindrance. If there is a situation where the families are yet to be informed, or if the victims are still at large, then having the media attempting to gain all of the information can be a serious ethical issue.
This stage of the investigation needs to be performed very carefully, as if not the defence can use any ethical dilemmas produced by the investigation against the prosecution, and potentially get the defendant acquitted based on unfair ethical treatment.
The OJ Simpson Case
When concerning the OJ Simpson case, the press were a huge hindrance to the investigation. Due to the high profile nature of OJ and his Ex-Wife, every television show, news paper and magazine wanted all of the information on the case. Due to the number of photographers at the scene, the police and forensic investigators placed a blanket from the house over the bodies - therefore meaning that all forensic evidence taken from the bodies was now useless, as it had been contaminated, therefore leading to the acquittal of OJ Simpson.
This is a clear example of how the press can be a hindrance for any investigation, and even how ethical consideration can be a hindrance to a case, as without either of these factors, OJ may have been found guilty.