DELPHI
EVIDENCE
Outline of the publicly known evidence.
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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.
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."
05
NEWS BULLETIN CLARIFICATION
APRIL 24 2019
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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.
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04
PRESS RELEASE
APRIL 22 2019
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Today, a new sketch of the suspect, appearing to be in his mid-twenties to mid-thirties.
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The discrepancy between the release and the actual information said at the press conference might be due to last minute speech edits.
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PRESS CONFERENCE APRIL 22 2019
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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.
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Source: Video, Timestamp 8:00
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PRESS RELEASE
JULY 17 2019
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
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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.
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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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12
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.
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Police say the girls mostly talk about 'stuff girls talk about' in the recording, but they also mention the man.
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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:
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Sgt. Holeman tells us investigators have more audio from Libby’s phone, which was found with the girls at the crime scene.
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AUDIO
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.
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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
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Train crossing the Monon High Bridge. Undated.
Carroll County Historical Museum Photo Archives,
TRAIN PHOTO
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AERIAL VIEW
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TRAIL PHOTO
Modern day
VIEW FROM WEST
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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,
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Map
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
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‘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.
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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
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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.
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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.
Source: Tippecanoe-ISP February 15, 2017 13:49 file
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POLICE SCANNER AUDIO- CIGARETTE
FEBRUARY 15, 2017
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POSSIBLE FOOTPRINTS
FEBRUARY 15 2017
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Sources tell Call 6 Investigates that a set of footprints are what led volunteers to the area the bodies were found.
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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.
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POLICE SCANNER AUDIO- CLOTHING
FEBRUARY 15, 2017
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DESCRIPTION OF CLOTHING/SHOES
FEBRUARY 14 2017
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From 75-yards away I could see girls clothing in Deer Creek east of the bridge and knew full well that the girls where found very nearby.
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Source: Keener's Facebook
A newspaper photographer, mentioned earlier in Evidence V, named J. Kyle Keener added a description to his facebook photo album in which he describes what he could see in the creek on February 14, 2017.
Kelsi German, Libby's sister, described being under the bridge and being called out to by a group searching.
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And somebody yelled up that they had found a shoe. And when they had found the shoe they had asked what kind of shoes the girls were wearing. And they yelled out the type of shoe that Libby was wearing. So I yelled down and told them that.
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Source: Infamous Indy podcast Episode 2, Timestamp 18:40
CONFIRMATION OF DNA EVIDENCE EXISTENCE, NOT OF ITS RELEVANCE
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On August 14, 2017 Indiana State Police First Sgt. Jerry Holeman gives an interview to CBS-4 Indiana, the same publication with earlier reporting issues. In this video taped interview, Holeman says:
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NEWS MISUNDERSTANDING
AND CORRECTION
On February 23, 2017 Sheriff Leazenby gives an interview and based on this interview some media outlets wrote articles such as the one written by CBS-4 Indiana stating:
The following day, February 24, 2017, Sheriff Leazenby speaks to the press again to clarify his earlier statements. WISH_TV8 writing:
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Leazenby wouldn’t go into specifics about forensic evidence in the case, although he did say investigators had requested that DNA evidence be 'fast-tracked,'
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Source: CBS-4 Indiana Article
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Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby is clearing up some misconceptions about the Delphi double homicide case released by other media outlets on Friday.
Leazenby said he has never confirmed DNA evidence was recovered in this case.
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Source: WISH-TV 8 article
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At every crime scene, you are going to have DNA. We are still working on identifying all of the DNA that we have there.
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At every crime scene, you are going to have DNA. We are still working on identifying all of the DNA that we have there.
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"FLANNEL SHIRT GUY"
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FEMALE WITNESS C
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VEHICLE SIGHTING
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We’re seeking the public’s help to identify the driver of a vehicle that was parked at the old CPS/DCS welfare building in the city of Delphi that was abandoned on the eastside of county road 300 North next to the Hoosier Heartland highway between the hours of noon to five pm on February [13th] 2017. If you were parked there or know who was parked there please contact the officer at the command post at the Delphi city building.
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[Note: originally it was said to be on February 14 2017, but it was later corrected by law enforcement to February 13th.]
A female witness "C" chose to publicly comment on a Facebook post written by a family member of the victim discussing how she was on the trail that day shortly after the girls. [18] C wrote on Facebook:
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I even walked all the way across the bridge and back. I only (saw) a guy when I first got there and another couple once I got on the bridge. I didn’t see the girls at all. I also didn’t take the trail that leads to the right. Only took the trail that lead to the bridge.
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Source: Heavy article
The families of the victims have spoken about a man that Derrick ran into when he arrived at the trail at roughly 3:14pm. [19] [20] He is often referred to online by the moniker "Flannel Shirt Guy" or FSG.
This man was seen walking away from the Monon High bridge trail and Derrick asked if he had seen any girls on that trail. The man said he had not but that he had seen a couple on the bridge. [20]
According to public records, the CPS/DCS building referenced is:
Carroll County Office of Family and Children
6931 West 300 North , Delphi, IN 46923-9134 [17]
Google Street View photo on July 2015:
A Google Street View photo on August 2018 shows the building is now torn down:
However the building had not been torn down and can be seen still standing on February 14, 2017 in RTV-6 helicopter footage. So the building was still standing but was not in use during the day of the crime February 13, 2017.
As early as February 15, 2017, Indiana State Police have been seeking information relating to vehicles in the area during this timeframe. On the 15th, Indy Channel wrote an article saying:
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Indiana State Police also want to talk to anyone who was parked at High Bridge Trail Head on Monday, February 13, between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
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Source: Indy Channel Article
Whether this is reference to a vehicle parked near the CPS building or a generic request for witnesses is unknown.
If the referred to "High Bridge trail head" is the location near the trail intersections or the location near the trail intersection is unknown.
CITATIONS
1. CBS New article Delphi Indiana Murder
2. April 22, 2019 Indiana State Police News Bulletin
3. Timestamp 7:32 Video of Indiana State Police Press conference, April 22 2019
4. Timestamp 8:00 Video of Indiana State Police Press conference, April 22 2019
5. "That's when I ended up going back to the police station so we could get them phone information so they could start pinging, Becky was already there, Anna was already there, and it was a long night of coming up with anything we could do with phones. You know I ran back out to the house here and I got any Ipads or Ipods or computers or anything electronic gadgetry that I could come across to take back in so that they could review through all that." -Mike Patty, Timestamp 32:00, Interview with Mike And Becky Patty by Gray Hughes
6. "So when we check the phone records, the police call was about 5:20,” -Becky Patty, Timestamp 29:00, Interview with Mike And Becky Patty by Gray Hughes
7. WLFI article Community continues to search for missing teens
8. “It carried trains high above Deer Creek until it was abandoned by CSX in 1987.The abandoned railroad bridge has since become a popular attraction for people who live in the area, despite its disrepair and exclusion from the official Delphi Historic Trail System.” The Indy Channel article Delphi Daughters
9. Journal and Courier article 1.2 M to Restore Monon High Bridge
10. "The bridge has been used as a backdrop for photo shoots like senior pictures, wedding photos, or to simply capture the beauty of the untouched nature that surrounds it." The Indy Channel article Delphi Daughters
11. “A team discovered the bodies of the girls in a wooded area near the trail, about a half-mile upstream from the bridge,” New York Times article ‘You Are Hiding in Plain Sight’
12. The Indy Channel article Delphi Timeline
13. "The new material included about one second of video of the man walking behind the girls, his hat pulled down low, in the hopes that someone watching might recognize a quirk in his gait or a familiar mannerism, Superintendent Douglas G. Carter of the State Police said." New York Times article ‘You Are Hiding in Plain Sight’
14. "A new sketch of the suspect was released as well as a new version of the audio recording, in which a slight inflection in the man’s voice can be detected as he says the word 'guys,' in addition to the words 'down the hill.' " New York Times article ‘You Are Hiding in Plain Sight’
15. “Why did we let them go out there? Well thats 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, Timestamp 13:41, Interview with Mike And Becky Patty by Gray Hughes
16. “Did they both have a phone?” “No. Abby did not. ” Anna on the podcast Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, Episode: Live from CrimeCon: Little Abby & Libby's families Timestamp 14:25
17. WCHGS Public Records website
18. Heavy.com article Abigail Williams & Liberty German: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
19. "'He got there and nobody was there. He ran into a guy and he was coming from the bridge. He said, 'did you happen to see two girls up there?' He said, 'no I did not.' By 4 p.m., it was like, 'oh man,'' said Patty. " WDRB article Families of teens
20. "The started up towards the trailhead. He stood there for a little bit, he looked around and didn’t see anybody or anything so he thinks he started walking towards the High Bridge, he was just about to where it forks and he ran into an older gentleman that was coming from the High Bridge and he asks him ‘Did you see a couple of girls there?’ and he said ‘No, but there's a couple down underneath.’" - Becky Patty, Timestamp 22:47, Interview with Mike And Becky Patty by Gray Hughes