Dallas Joseph Stade, allegedly called authorities anonymously on December 17 and said he had direct knowledge of the December 13 killings and named several possible suspects, including himself and his friends, police said.

Chandrasekhar Reddy Komma, 31, a biology student from Kurnool, and Kiran Kumar Allam, 33, a chemistry student from Hyderabad, India, were shot dead inside a unit at the Edward Gay Apartments complex.

“It is a kick in the stomach to the people working this,” Sgt Don Kelly, spokesperson of the taskforce probing the murders, told reporters.

It is absolute “shame” that an individual took advantage of the situation, he added.

Staden has been in Parish Prison since being arrested on December 21 on an unrelated warrant. Police said they are looking into whether Staden could face additional charges.

Investigators wasted time as they tried to check the information provided by Staden and Kelly said many worked 16 to 20 hours a day as they thought they were close to solving the case.