Kids today may not fully understand what it’s like to have a day off from school and spend that time outdoors. In some cases, perhaps that’s for the best. I’m sure the families of Abigail Williams and Liberty German wish their girls had stayed home, playing video games – or the like. Instead, they went for a hike and ran into the Delphi Killer.
February 13, 2017 was an abnormally warm day in Delphi, Indiana. There was no school, and best friends Abigail Joyce “Abby” Williams (13), and Liberty Rose Lynn “Libby” German (14), weren’t going to waste the day inside. After a sleepover the previous night, they were bored and wanted to go for a hike.
Abby was described as outgoing, outspoken, and smart. Libby, on the other hand, was shy. She loved reading and the arts, specifically photography and drawing. They got Libby’s older sister Kelsi to drop them off on County Road 300 North, at the start of the Monon Bridge Trail, at approximately 1:35pm.
The girls were free to hike, explore, and have fun until 3:15pm, when they were to meet up with Libby’s dad. They took advantage of that time hiking on the Monon High Bridge over Deer Creek, among woodland in remote Deer Creek Township.
Anyone following the girls on social media would see photos they were posting throughout their day. At 2:09pm, Libby posted a photo of Abby walking across the Monon High bridge on Snapchat. That would be the last photo ever taken of her.
While the Monon High Bridge was a well known, and treasured spot for the 3,000 residents of Delphi, it was also illegal to walk the bridge. The bridge, sitting at 63 feet high, was built in 1891 and carried trains across Deer Creek until it was abandoned in 1987. With no rails, and the wood rotting and missing in some places, the bridge is a very dangerous landmark.
During their time on the trail, Libby not only took several photos, but she also recorded their conversations. She and Abby talked about various things, but the one thing that stood out was when they mentioned the creepy man following them.
At about 3pm, Abby’s father tried calling them, to confirm they were heading back to the beginning of the trail. But, despite several calls, she never answered her phone.
He wasn’t too alarmed yet, thinking maybe she didn’t hear it, or somehow managed to lose her phone. When the girls didn’t show up at 3:15pm, the assumption was, maybe they got lost. The families began their own search, believing the girls were just lost, or had lost track of time, or lost their phones.
When they failed to find them, they went to police and around 5:30pm, reported them missing.
Authorities began their search almost immediately, canvassing the area, again, suspecting the girls were just lost. After all, Delphi was a safe town, everyone knew everyone. But when midnight came, and still no sign of them was found, they called it a night, and vowed to return first thing in the morning.
The next morning, with sunlight on their side, and numerous volunteers, the search resumed. They found Abby and Libby.
At about 1:50pm, the Indiana State Police’s Kim Riley, Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby, and Delphi Police Chief Steve Mullins, held a joint press conference to announce that they had found two bodies on the banks of Deer Creek. The bodies were located on a private piece of land, located approximately 1km from where Libby’s last photo was taken.
The bodies were confirmed to be Abby and Libby the next day, Wednesday, February 15.
The land where the girls were found happened to belong to 77-year-old Ron Logan. His property was searched immediately, but they found nothing. Logan claimed to have been driving during the time the girls’ were missing. He had gone to a dump site, then stopped and had a couple of beers before returning home.
Logan happened to be on probation for driving without a license, and ended up doing jail time for breaking his probation.
Also on the 15th, police released a photo of a person of interest. The photo was grainy, blurry, and taken from Libby’s phone. It also happened to be a screen grab from a video Libby had recorded. The photo showed a caucasian man with his hands in his pockets, head down, and walking on the bridge toward the girls.
A week later, a snippet of audio from that video was released to the public. In it you can hear a man’s voice saying, “Down the hill.” While no details have ever been released regarding how the girls were killed, the man in the photo was immediately identified as their prime suspect.
There also happened to be someone on the trail that day, who happened to see a hiker matching the description of their prime suspect. They were able to help police with a description allowing them to put together a composite sketch.
On April 22, 2019, the Indiana State Police and the Multi-Agency Task Force released a short video recording of their prime suspect walking along the bridge. The video lasts for just over a second. An updated sketch was also unveiled along with an extended version of the audio recording, in which you can hear a slight rise in the suspect’s voice when he says, “Guys…” just before saying, “Down the hill.”
It is believed that the suspect is somewhere between 18-40 years old.
The case remains unsolved, however there are a few theories.
John D. Miller
John D. Miller of Fort Wayne, Indiana confessed and was arrested for the murder of 8-year-old April Lee Tinsley in 1988. April was strangled to death and her kill had left taunting notes claiming to kill again.
Miller’s DNA was found on trash and multiple other items in and around the crime scene where Abby and Libby were found. Moreover, he lived just 2 hours away from Delphi…
Daniel Nations
Daniel Nations was crazy with anger problems, at least according to his wife. He had been arrested before for public indecency, not registering as a sex offender, and even for threatening hikers with a hatchet – an incident that took place in Colorado.
During the time of Abby and Libby’s murder, he was living just two hours away from Delphi. He maintains his innocence, adding that he has children of his own and would never kill any children. He has cooperated with police, and even willingly gave them his DNA.
“As you all know, we went out to Colorado and we spent a little bit of time with him [Daniel Nations], and he’s not a person we care a whole lot about at this time,” Superintendent Douglas Carter with the Indiana State Police said. “Until somebody is arrested, we’re interested in almost everybody.”
Kegan Kline
In December 2021, a fake Instagram profile was identified, and linked to the case. The profile, anthony_shots, was used from 2016-2017 and utilized images of a well-known male model, who is not connected to the account or the investigation. The owner of the account is believed to be Kegan Kline, 27, of Peru Indiana.
Although he was arrested and charged in August 2020 with 30 counts that included child exploitation, possession of child pornography and obstruction of justice, during the time of Abby and Libby’s murders, he was a free man, living about an hour outside of Delphi. In fact, just over a week after the murders, authorities actually executed a search warrant at the home where he and his father lived. They found nothing that would connect him to the killings.
Kline has admitted to using fake social media accounts to talk to girls in 2016 and 2017, even after they told him they were under the age of 16. He allegedly told authorities he would find the underage girls on Instagram and then move the conversation to Snapchat.
Kline said he believes he received about 100 sexual pictures from about 15 underage girls. Investigators claim that the “anthony_shots” account was the last to communicate with Libby before she was killed.
Kline, however, denies the allegations “No. Not at all. I’ve told them a hundred times,” he said, referring to the police. “I’ve done everything they wanted me to and it’s like they’re just harassing me.” He claims to have no recollection of ever speaking with Libby. He is so confident that he has even given hair follicles and a DNA sample to investigators.
Police continue to seek out anyone who has communicated with anthony_shots. “Please provide as much information as you possibly can. For example, when you communicated with anthony_shots, how you communicated with the profile, what social media applications the account used, and if anthony_shots attempted to meet you or obtain your address.”
If you have any information about the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German, please call or email the tip line:
e-Mail: Abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com
Tip Line: (844) 459-5786
Indiana State Police: (800) 382-7537
Carroll County Sheriff: (765) 564-2413
Looking for more unsolved true crime? Check out the story of the Alphabet Murders.
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