I lived in South Bend for 6 years. I have 5 relatives (including 4 that worked within the ND athletic Dept) that went to school in South Bend spanning 4 decades. Our collective knowledge re: ND is pretty broad. Add on our many connections (a few pretty significant including one who was the celebrant at my brother's funeral ...mostly now retired) at ND and some friends who continue to live there (including an attorney who used to work there). I know plenty about how the town works and have heard many stories that don't make the news. As a matter of fact, I mentioned your fairy tale to a good friend of mine who has lived there for most of his adult life and is well informed on in-town stories re: ND. He never heard this one, and he's heard plenty, and he agrees with me that the notion that anything about Michael Floyd at the time would have been kept on the down low by the cops and the media and the prosecutor's office is pretty ludicrous.