According to the probable cause affidavit, Allen, a longtime resident of Delphi, told a law enforcement officer in 2017 that he was on the trails between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 13. Exactly. where Liberty German and Abigail Williams were seen before they were reported missing by their families on Feb. 13, 2017. The warrant application cites multiple complaints that he was violent towards women and that he owned multiple weapons, including handguns and knives. We can only guess at what this may mean - different causes of death, potential DNA evidence, etc. It also states the murderer "staged" the girls bodies after killing them, although how they were allegedly staged has not been released. As you just heard, this press conference seemed to upend or update most of the information previously-released by investigators. The victims bodies were found on Feb. 14, 2017, less than a quarter mile from the Monon High Bridge, the railway bridge where the girls captured their alleged murderer on video. Several female bodybuilders are coming forward saying they were sexually exploited in order to advance their careers. Following his arrest, Miller confessed to the crime to investigators, and later pleaded guilty. - would be kept private. He had had several run-ins with law enforcement over the years - including drug offenses - and also had a history of domestic violence. Police did not officially name this man a suspect, just a "person-of-interest" that they would like to speak to. On the day the girls went missing, Libby had posted photos on Snapchat of her and Abby walking along the trail. Libby would not answer her phone, and - for several minutes after Derrick got to the pickup spot - the girls would fail to show up. He had allegedly arranged to meet up with a teenage girl, who - unbeknownst to him - was a police officer. Yuk there are some sick fucks in this world thats for sure. Listen to "The Delphi Murders" on Spreaker. Roughly half an hour after being dropped off at the trail-head, the two girls posted a couple of pictures to Snapchat. The direction he was walking was away from the crime scene and toward the abandoned building where Allen allegedly indicated he had parked. Bruce was a U.S. Navy veteran, an avid advocate for gun rights, and had been a pastor between 2003 and 2007. In a written statement directed at this unknown killer, which was released later in the day, ISP Superintendent Doug Carter wrote: "We have a witness. The Delphi Fire Chief reported the discovery as "not good," and indicated that it was the missing girls' bodies. WebPer CNN, Delphi police announced that they had arrested and charged 50-year-old Richard M. Allen for the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German. Police in 2019 released a new suspect sketch that officials said was based on a witness' recollection of what he or she saw. While Delphi has an incredibly small population - less than 3,000 people call Delphi "home" - roughly a quarter-million people live in the region defined as the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. Usually murders It just seems like, 'Man, it's been another month and we still don't have answers.' ', Death toll keeps rising in Greece's deadliest train crash, Brunt of storm moving out of SoCal, light showers on tap Wednesday. To many, this lead about the vehicle hearkened back to the local rumors about a woman encountering a young man in a truck near the crime scene. A few hours later, Libertys father arrived at the trailhead to pick them up. Where Will This High Altitude Balloon Land? Kline was arrested on charges of child sexual abuse images and child exploitation tied to the account in 2020. They began to explore the man as a possible person-of-interest in the ongoing Delphi investigation, and soon, El Paso County Sheriff's officials - who had apprehended the man in their Colorado jurisdiction - declared that there were "many similarities" between Nations and the still-unidentified killer from Indiana. Firefighters Rescue Bride & Groom Trapped Inside Elevat 11-Year-Old Arrives at Basketball Game on Fire Truck, People Who Never Gave Up in Tough Situations, Police Officer Performs CPR on Choking Infant. Richard Allen, a 50-year-old married Delphi man, was taken into custody on Wednesday (26 October) and booked into Carroll County Jail. Of course, these circumstance seemed odd to police, who immediately began to suspect that this man's story might be worth pursuing. This eventually led them straight to 59-year-old John Miller, who still lived in the region all these years later. Heres a look at what we know so far. The man had been threatening people with a hatchet on a hiking trail, at around the same time that a bicyclist had been shot dead on the same trail. However, he would remain in police custody, due to an outstanding warrant from Johnson County, Indiana. And I think we're one piece away one piece.". ALL PUBLIC SERVANTS administering this action do not feel safe and are not protected.). Their means of death dont match, Steven Goncalves said on Fox News Lawrence Jones Cross Country on Dec. 3. They would not state why, exactly, but several possibilities have been floated online for those following the case - most of which seem to rule out Nations as a suspect. I explored this story on this podcast just a few weeks ago, and went into detail about the various suspects that were investigated by police and theorized about in the media; none of whom seem to remain suspects or person-of-interest. On April 19, 2021 42-year-old James Brian Chadwell II told a 9-year-old girl in his neighborhood that she could play with his dog. this category of killers, not without exception, are the ones who document (pics, videos, even drawings) or take trophies or tokens. Libby had the presence of mind to turn on her video camera, Indiana State Police spokesman Capt David Bursten told ABC News. She says that Libby was "huge on science" and had been inspired to become a science teacher while attending Delphi Community Middle School. On 13 February, 2017, Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, went for a hike over the Monon High Bridge in Carroll County, Indiana. Libby and Abby went missing on 13 February 2017 after they set off on a hike along the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, Indiana. Finally having a breakthrough in the case was a positive day for the community, she said. Within days, police had identified a suspect in the Catholic Supply shooting: a 53-year old named Thomas Bruce. This resulted in a police raid of the facility, and police were photographed taking away several pieces of evidence: including a pair of boots, which many think may have had some correlation to the ongoing murder investigation. Got scared. No comments for now, any questions please refer to the Carroll county prosecutor's office. Information can be reported anonymously. Abby loved being outdoors: in particular, she loved riding ATV's while on camping trips with her family in Michigan. More than five years on from the murders, news that an arrest has finally been made has raised hopes among the Delphi community that there can finally be closure in the case. As a child, Liberty loved baking, painting, and other crafts, and was described as an incredibly bright young girl that earned good grades and was constantly battling to be the best student in each of her classes. It was an open uncontrolled environment and things probably didnt go his way. The cousins were 10-year old Lyric Cook-Morrissey and 8-year old Elizabeth Collins, who went missing while riding their bikes in downtown Evansdale. The podcast reported that it is the investigator's belief that photos or videos were likely shot of the staged bodies to "memorialize" the crime scene. In 2016, Nations had been convicted of domestic violence in Morgan County, Indiana. Sexually motivated and sexually satisfying dont necessarily mean sexual intercourse took place. He seems like a normal guy, he said. Police emphasised, however, that the man shown in the anthony_shots photosis not a suspect. The documents, filed in 2020 and heavily redacted, do not mention the murders of Libby and Abby and he was not accused of involvement in their deaths. "What we're hearing from sources indicates that this is connected," co-host of The Murder Sheet, Aine Cain said on the podcast. A massive search ensued, and - eventually - the bodies of the two girls were found in a heavily-wooded area roughly 20 miles away from where they disappeared. Investigators say the man in the video is the main suspect in the homicide investigation, but have not yet managed to identify him. As she approached her 14th birthday, Abigail was looking forward to high school and all of the adventures that came with it - which she was planning to face alongside her best friend, Liberty. Soon, though, these officials began reaching out to other state and federal agencies, quickly obtaining the help of the FBI. This year an anonymous donor added $100,000 to the reward fund in Abby and Libby's case, Leazenby said. We anticipate a vigorous legal and factual challenge to any claims by the prosecution as to the reliability of its conclusions concerning the single magic bullet, they said. Over the next several weeks, police would receive literally thousands of tips. (After the affidavit was unsealed, his defense lawyers also confirmed that Allen was there.) The order will remain in place until at least Jan. 13, 2023, when the next hearing on the case will be held. Officers were searching the neighborhood and spoke with James Chadwell II, who allegedly said the girl had been at his home earlier, but had since left, according to the probable cause affidavit. In both cases, family members were seemingly ruled out as suspects, meaning that a strange individual - who was likely previously unknown to the victims - had abducted and killed the girls. He is married and works as a pharmacy technician, receiving his most recent pharmaceutical licence in February 2018 one year on from the murders. It was just a large plot of wooded land along Deer Creek, and police would withhold almost all of their information about this discovery. Investigators have been mostly mum In fact, between 1974 and 2012, the FBI had recorded only 15 of these incidents, meaning that the likelihood of two similar abduction-murders taking place in the same geographic region - a handful of years apart - has to be very small. At least, not immediately. Were they sexually assaulted? Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday - and tune in to Monday's episode when it goes live this afternoon for even more about the Delphi Murders. However, we firmly believe speculation and unvetted information is a disservice to the victims, their families, and our community. The trail is located in a secluded area of Delphi, Indiana, and spans eight miles of densely populated woods. The following day - February 15th, 2017 - police would confirm that the bodies found the day prior were indeed Liberty German and Abigail Williams. In that time, however, clues have emerged about what may have happened to the two girls. The family members of Abby and Libby - who were unaware of the information that would be shared - met with police just a short time before the press conference on Monday, April 22nd. Police also publicized the suspect's voice -- a recording of him saying "down the hill" -- which was recovered from Libby's phone. WebFor the first time, a man has been arrested and charged with the 2017 murders of the teenagers. We will say more then. They did everything together. The Delphi murders have confounded investigators in the five years since Williams and German's bodies were found and in 2018, the head of the Indiana State Police Office, Doug Carter, told the IndyStar that he believed they were "one piece of the puzzle away from figuring out who this individual is. Libbys grandmother Becky Patty told The Independent in December that the teenager had never mentioned speaking to anyone online prior to her death and that there had never been any indication that the two girls had arranged to meet anyone online the day they were killed. Abby's grandmother, Diane Erskin, later told Inside Edition: "It's like I had open-heart surgery, but they never used any anesthetic and they say, 'I'm sorry, you're just gonna have to live this way, with part of your heart missing the rest of your life.'". "Evidence in this case has led investigators to believe that this is a double homicide, and that's what we're investigating at this time," Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Not only did the town come together to raise awareness for this case, but began participating in fundraising efforts for the expenses the families would have to bears - memorial services, funerals, etc. One of the girls said that he just glared at them when she said hi, and that he was walking with a purpose like he knew where he was going, and had his hands in his pockets and kept his head down, the affidavit says. He told investigators that he was picked up by a friend around 2pm on 13 February and driven to an aquarium store, returning hours later at around 5pm, the document states. This would be the girls' last known location. Dru Moorhouse is the copy chief for BuzzFeed News and is based in Los Angeles. It was unusually warm for a winter day, so they wanted to make the best of it and spend a few hours outdoors. "Maybe they just don't want to believe it right now. One of the earliest theories in this case is the belief that the murders of Abby and Libby might be related to a similar crime that unfolded roughly five years earlier. She also said that he did not own the clothing owned by the supposed killer. According to online records, Mr Allen has lived in Delphi since at least 2006, and in Indiana his whole adult life. and i don't know enough about the cases to determine if there's sexual motivation in both cases. She was just 14, Abigail Joyce Williams was one of the two girls killed. An undated handout photo shows Anna Williams with her daughter, Abby Williams, who was murdered in Delphi, Ind., in Feb. 2017. In it, the agent revealed that the girls had lost a lot of blood during their deaths and that their killer is believed to have moved and staged their bodies, before taking some sort of souvenir from the scene. According to the police affidavit, Libby and Abby were forced down the hill and lead to the location where they were murdered. Search volunteers found the girls bodies in a densely wooded area at about 12:15 p.m. on Feb. 14, 2017. An award-winning journalist who has worked forRolling Stone and MTV News, Chris enjoys prog rock, cycling, Marvel movies, IPAs, and roller coasters. The FBI search warrant, obtained by theMurder Sheetpodcast and released toIndianapolis FOX59 did not provide information describing what the murder weapon might be or the cause of death. At the time of the murder, Logan had owned that property for more than 50 years, and he was questioned by police several times over the next several weeks. Obviously, it gets difficult, especially around the 13th and 14th of every month. That in itself is a detail that is very rare, according to both the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children - NCMEC - who state that most abductions happen via family member or family friend. Abigail Joyce Williams was born on June 23rd, 2003, to her mother, Anna Williams. Investigators said the person behind the account was Kegan Anthony Kline, 27-year-old man with addresses in Kokomo and Peru, close to Delphi. Police asked Chadwell, 42, for his permission to check his home, and Chadwell allowed the officers inside, the document said. The girl said "Chadwell was also choking her with his hands on her neck and also using his arm in a headlock, to the point where she passed out," according to the affidavit. Interesting you use that analogy about biting off more than he can handle. Cities Show Solidarity for Ukraine During War Anniversa Don Lemon Tweets Apology to CNN Colleagues, Grand Jury Forewoman Under Fire After Interview, Reporter Breaks Silence About Secret Trip to Ukraine, President Jimmy Carter Enters Hospice Care, Senator Asks Not to Pass So Called Anti-Trans Bill. He happened to be homeless, having moved away from Greenwood, Indiana in May of 2017 - just months after the Delphi murders. 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