DELPHI
EVIDENCE
Outline of the publicly known evidence.
I.
The Sketch
On April 22, 2019 a sketch of the person who the Indiana State Police believe attacked Libby and Abby was released during a press conference detailing "a new direction" the investigation was taking.
This sketch replaces an older sketch that was provided on July 17th, 2017. The previous sketch was a composite sketch and was "an artist's composite of the information" collected by all the agencies involved in the double-murder investigation, including the FBI, said Indiana State Police Sgt. Kim Riley. [1]
The official stated reason for this change according to the press release is “As the investigation has progressed, information has been continuously reviewed and examined and this sketch more accurately depicts the face of the suspect from the video recorded on Liberty German's cell phone while she and Abigail were on the High Bridge.” [2]
During the conference Police Superintendent Doug Carter said “We have concluded the first sketch released will become secondary as of today, the result of the new information and intelligence over time leads us to believe the sketch which you will see shortly is the person responsible for the murders of these two little girls.” [3]
02
01
01
NEW SKETCH
The new sketch released during a press conference on April 22 2019.
02
OLD SKETCH
The previously released sketch. Note the more bulbous shape of the nasal tip not present in Figure A. Strong nasolabial folds and hooded eyes still present in Figure A.
Two days after the new sketch was given, a news bulletin was released to clarify the relationship between the two sketches:
Multi-Agency Taskforce Clarifies Points about the Delphi Murder Suspect Sketches
Delphi, Indiana - In the early days and months of the Delphi Murder investigation information was developed about suspect descriptions. It was initially believed the sketch that has been in public view over the last two years of a person in the age range of his 40’s to 50’s was a person of interest in this murder investigation. Now, as the investigation has matured and past information has been reassessed, it is the belief of investigators with the Multi-Agency Task Force that the person depicted in the sketch released on April 22nd more accurately represents the person wanted for the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German.
It is important to distinguish these points about the two sketches:
They are not the same person.
The person depicted in the originally released sketch is not presently a person of interest in this investigation.
The sketch released on April 22nd is representative of the face of the person captured in the video on Liberty German’s cell phone as he was walking on the high bridge.
The person in the sketch released April 22nd is described as having a youthful appearance, but could fall in the age range from his 20’s to late 30’s.
This person’s appearance could look different today if he has grown a mustache, beard or let his hair grow longer or cut his hair shorter than depicted in the sketch.
Members of the Delphi community should reflect back on people they know in the community that look similar to the sketch released on April 22nd, especially if that person has changed their appearance since the murders occurred in February of 2017.
This "new" sketch was actually created earlier then the "old" sketch according to an Indy Star article, which writes:
Master Trooper Taylor Bryant, a sketch artist with Indiana State Police who drew the new sketch, told IndyStar a sketch is based on how a particular witness describes the suspect. If there are several witnesses, Bryant would draw a sketch for each description. Bryant did not draw the sketch that police released in July 2017.
"The witness is the main focus. So there’s no input from law enforcement at all in the generating of a sketch, other than my presence as the artist."
Bryant uses a "facial identification reference sheet" that has a list of different categories, from head shapes to different eyebrows and noses. The person will describe the suspect based on those categories. "(It's) easier to do that than to describe (the suspect) using just words," Bryant said.
The sketches are not exact, Bryant said. The renderings are a "ballpark estimation of what the person looks like."
The sketch released on Monday was drawn by Bryant on Feb. 17, 2017, a few days after the victims' bodies were found. The picture was based on the description of a person who saw something that the person felt needed to be reported, according to Bryant.
Why switch focus to another?
Knowing that the sketches are of two different people brings up the question, why did the investigation switch focus from their first suspect to another?
Libby's sister Kelsi responded on Twitter to questions related the new sketch saying:
The podcast Best Case, Worst Case claims to have heard from their sources that the man in the July 17 sketch was arrested and cleared hence the change of suspects.
Normally this website would consider this type of information to be rumor and not include it, however due to the high credibility of the two hosts, this is a special circumstance. The podcast is hosted by Jim Clemente who worked for the FBI for 22 years, in part as a Supervisory Special Agent in the Behavioral Analysis Unit and Francey Hakes, a former federal prosecutor and the country’s first National Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction, a post appointed by the U.S. Attorney General.
Best Case Worst Case podcast
Timestamp 33:09
Jim Clemente: And I think that what must have happened is they have taken these leads, they have interviewed literally thousands of people. And they have found someone who looks at that video that they released and says yes I definitely saw that guy minutes before the girls came by and I saw his face and that's where this sketch came from. And so the other sketch was somebody saw, in the area, and was suspicious about. Turns out it's a guy whose sexually interested in children, who's had multiple arrests for it right?
Timestamp 36:40
Francey Hakes: The police obviously know who they’re looking for. And spent a significant amount of time looking for the man in this sketch, and as you said Jim, that man it turned out recently was arrested and was a sex offender. But what we found out recently was he is apparently not the killer.
When confusion arose after the episode's release, the podcast responded through Facebook saying "That is what we have heard from our sources."
II.
The Official Descriptions
Accompanying each new sketch is an official description of the suspect.
05
NEWS BULLETIN CLARIFICATION
APRIL 24 2019
“
The person in the sketch released April 22nd is described as having a youthful appearance, but could fall in the age range from his 20’s to late 30’s.
“
04
PRESS RELEASE
APRIL 22 2019
“
Today, a new sketch of the suspect, appearing to be in his mid-twenties to mid-thirties.
“
The discrepancy between the release and the actual information said at the press conference might be due to last minute speech edits.
03
PRESS CONFERENCE APRIL 22 2019
“
We also believe that this person is from Delphi currently or has previously lived here, visits delphi at a regular basis or works here. We believe this person is currently between the age range of 18 and 40 but might appear younger than his true age.
“
Source: Video, Timestamp 8:00
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PRESS RELEASE
JULY 17 2019
“
He is described as a white male between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing between 180 and 220 pounds with reddish-brown hair.
“
Source: CBS News article on
There has been no official indication of if this description is still relevant to the investigation as it was associated with the old sketch. Taking into consideration Indiana State Police's statement that the old and new sketch are "not the same person" it stands to reason that this description no longer applies.
“
This young lady is a hero, there’s no doubt, to have enough presence of mind to activate that video system on her cellphone, to record what we believe is criminal behavior that's about to occur.
“
Multiple news agency were in this news conference on the morning of Wednesday, February 22, 2017. WLFI-18 wrote an article that day which said:
“
The recording was longer than what has been released. Police won't release anymore to protect the integrity of the investigation, but they've seen the video and likely won't be able to stop thinking about it.
“
Where the assertion that the unreleased video is something investigators "won't be able to stop thinking about" is unclear. The full press conference can be found on YouTube and nothing seems to give this impression.
It is possible that a WLFI-18 reporter spoke to someone in law enforcement before or after the press conference in order to ascertain this. It is also possible that this journalist meant only to imply that any video of a killer approaching would haunt investigators.
Surprisingly, after all this speculation about if the attack the was recorded, when Sheriff Tobe Leazenby was asked point blank the attack was recorded in a video interview, he answered that it was not.
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GPS DATA
Mike Patty reveals that he went back to the house to retrieve "phone information" and brought it to the police so they could start "pinging" Libby's phones. [5]
This would have to have been sometime after they were officially reported missing on February 13, 2017 at 5:20 PM. [6]
An article is published by WLFI which interviews Mike Patty who says “The cellphone has been pinging around town – and here there is a cellphone tower – but the ping was last noted around five to six hours ago. And they say the phone is now dead...I saw the texts where they got delivered, but they never got read,” [7]
It is probable the "pinging around town" was a miscommunication around cellphone triangulation or cell tower function.
13
SOCIAL MEDIA CORRESPONDENCE
Mike Patty has said that on February 13, 2017 he went back to the house and collected "any Ipads or Ipods or computers or anything electronic gadgetry that I could come across to take back in" to law enforcement. [5]
It is likely that all social media correspondence with the girls has been analyzed by the multi-agency task force.
“
Police say the girls mostly talk about 'stuff girls talk about' in the recording, but they also mention the man.
“
On February 22, 2017, Indiana State Police release audio taken from Libby’s phone, presumably taken from the video she was taking. Whether the released video and the released audio coincide in time is unknown but seems unlikely. The clip is a male voice saying “Down the hill.” [12]
On April 22, 2019 a longer version of the clip is released with the voice saying “Guys… Down the hill.” [14] Whether “guys” word directly preceded the “down the hill” part or if some audio of the girls talking was removed is a subject of debate online.
There has been some debate online as to whether the Libby's cell phone was physically recovered by law enforcement, the idea being that the video could have been pulled from an app or cloud service if the phone was missing. The quote above was written by reporter Alexis McAdams in an article that was printed by FOX59, IndyStar and CBS-4, if accurate, it would confirm that Libby's phone was recovered at the crime scene.
An article from WTHR says audio from Libby German's cell phone was played for the victims' families, including a mention of a man they noticed behind them.
Also in this WTHR article, written August 12, 2017 reporter Emily Longnecker writes:
“
Sgt. Holeman tells us investigators have more audio from Libby’s phone, which was found with the girls at the crime scene.
“
AUDIO
III.
Information
from Cell Phone
Abby did not have a cellphone. [16]
The angle of approach and side of bridge can be deduced based on the platforms visible and distinctive foliage in the video. The offender approached them from the north western side moving south east towards them.
Initially law enforcement released stills from this video of the suspect. The first one was released on February 15, 2017. On February 19, 2017 law enforcement labeled the man in the image a “prime suspect”. [12] They later released two more stills from the video. On April 22, 2019 law enforcement released about one second of video of which the previous stills had been taken from. [13]
Law enforcement said Libby started to video record before criminal behavior began to occur. To get more specific, on February 22, 2017 Indiana State Police Sgt. Tony Slocum said:
07
5
The Monon High Bridge has 6 platforms jutting out in an alternating pattern of left and right periodically across the bridge.
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07
VIDEO
On February 13, 2017 Libby took a video (with audio) that captured a man on the Monon High Bridge approaching them.
IV.
The Initial
Contact Location
The Monon Railroad was built through Carroll County from 1879 to 1881 and the first train went over the High Bridge in January of 1881. This route went from Chicago to Indianapolis and was called the Airline route. The High Bridge, over Deer Creek, is the second highest in the state at 63 feet and it is 853 feet long. [7]
14
Gerard Collection,
UNDATED PHOTO
The Monon High Bridge being rebuilt in 1915.
Carroll County Historical Museum Photo Archives,
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1915 PHOTO
History of Location
Horse and buggy pictured standing on the Deer Creek with the Monon High Bridge visible in the background. Undated.
Carroll County Historical Museum Photo Archives,
BUGGY PHOTO
16
Train crossing the Monon High Bridge. Undated.
Carroll County Historical Museum Photo Archives,
TRAIN PHOTO
17
Modern day
Monon High Bridge
CSX Transportation ceased its use of the railroad in 1987. [8] At the time of the homicides, the bridge was still owned by CSX but was unofficially used by the community as a public trail. Since the homicides, Indiana Landmarks has taken ownership of the land and after planned restoration has completed it will officially be added to the Delphi Historic Trails. [9]
The Monon High Bridge Trail is 1.44 mile long trail. [6] The bridge was a common backdrop for photo shoots like senior pictures and wedding photos. [10]
It was a place known to be a hangout for young people. And Libby had been there many times before.
"Why did we let them go out there? Well that's because that's where all the kids were. There were kids there before them, there were kids there during, there were kids there after." -Mike Patty
21
AERIAL VIEW
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TRAIL PHOTO
Modern day
VIEW FROM WEST
19
Photo from the perspective of the railroad bridge, view from the west facing east.
Indiana Landmarks Announces Rescue of Monon High Bridge,
VIEW FROM CREEK
Monon High Bridge as seen from the south side of the Dreek Creek.
Indiana Landmarks Announces Rescue of Monon High Bridge,
18
South east
end of the bridge
The initial contact specifically happened right at the end of the bridge, on the South East end, where it stops being a bridge and becomes a trail again.
Map
V.
The Body
Disposal Location
The exact body disposal location has never been released by law enforcement.
Whether the homicide location and the body disposal location are the same is unknown. All that is known publicly is the initial sight of the encounter (the south east end of the bridge) is not the same location as the body disposal sight.
Law enforcement has said that the disposal sight was 0.5 miles from the end of the bridge and across the Deer Creek. [11] It is possible to get a rough estimate of where the bodies were based off of placement of crime scene tape in the woods.
Movement to Location
All arrows are in this map are abstract approximations and not intended to be taken literally.
If you assume that the path they took between the initial encounter sight and the disposal sight is relatively direct then the offender would have directed them off the trail and down the little hill to the north (with the “Guys… Down the Hill” audio most likely referring to this).
At the bottom of the hill they would have had to cross a private driveway and then moving further north they would have reached Deer Creek. This section was relatively shallow and during certain seasons it acts as a sandbar. Estimations of the depth range from ankle deep to knee deep. It is on the other side of Deer Creek that the bodies are found.
Location of Bodies
Slide to see images taken at the end of bridge and down the hill
Source: Video taken by Julie Melvin
22
FOX59 ARTICLE
FEBRUARY 13 2018
“
“
‘He saw something. He could not figure out what it was. There were two deer standing up there. As he looked up to see what it was, that is when he saw them,’ said Libby’s grandma, Becky Patty.
They were lying in the grass between a group of trees deep in the woods.
“
“
Source: Fox59
22
J. KYLE KEENER PHOTO 1
FEBRUARY 14, 2017
J. Kyle Keener, a photographer working for the newspaper Pharos Tribune took some of the highest quality photos of the investigation during February 14, 2017.
He posted them to his flickr and facebook. Others were used by the Pharos Tribune in their coverage of the homicides.
His description for this photo was:
"A volunteer searcher walks the woods near the Monon high bridge east of Delphi where the two teen girls went hiking Monday afternoon and never returned."
Source: Keener's Facebook
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J. KYLE KEENER PHOTO 2
FEBRUARY 14, 2017
His description for this photo was:
"A Delphi, Indiana, police detective looks for evidence at the scene where the two girl's bodies where found."
Source: Keener's Facebook
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J. KYLE KEENER PHOTO 3
FEBRUARY 14, 2017
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His description for this photo was:
"A Delphi police detective searches the scene near midday Tuesday where two bodies were found near the banks of Deer Creek."
Source: Pharos Tribune article
“
The bodies were found on private property, about 50 feet from the shore of Deer Creek. Sources tell Call 6 Investigates that a set of footprints are what led volunteers to the area the bodies were found.
“
Source: TheIndyChannel Article
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THE INDY CHANNEL ARTICLE
FEBRUARY 15 2017
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ABC-7 REPORTER TWEET
Tweet by an ABC-7 news reporter showing where crime scene tape was located.
Click the tweet to view the images at a larger size.
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ABC-15 REPORTER TWEET
Tweet by an ABC-15 news reporter which allegedly specifically shows where the girls bodies were found.
Click the tweet to view the image at a larger size.
VI.
Physical
Evidence
A complication of this investigation is that because the trail area was being used as if it was a public space the evidence collected could easily be unrelated to the case. It would be wrong to assume that all items collected ended up being related to the case. Please keep that in mind when discussing the physical evidence.
Source: Tippecanoe-ISP February 15, 2017 13:49 file
30
POLICE SCANNER AUDIO- CIGARETTE
FEBRUARY 15, 2017
32
POSSIBLE FOOTPRINTS
FEBRUARY 15 2017
“
Sources tell Call 6 Investigates that a set of footprints are what led volunteers to the area the bodies were found.
“
This quote, which was mentioned earlier, references a set of footprints leading up the the bodies when the bodies were found for the first time by volunteers. Footprints can casted and molded by forensic teams. Footprints can sometimes indicate approximate height and weight of a person. The quality and relevance of these footprints is unknown.