What did Alfred Stoecklein hope people would “try to understand” (p. 78)? Why was he so distraught and confused?

Alfred lives in the Clutter property and was up with a sick baby the night of the murders. He knows that people in town have been talking about him as a possible suspect and wishes they'd "stop yappin" and "try to understand that "he might not have heard the shots" the night of the murders.