On February 14, 2017, the bodies of Abigail J. "Abby" Williams and Liberty Rose Lynn "Libby" German were discovered on a hiking trail in Delphi, Indiana, United States, after the young girls had disappeared from the same trail the previous day. The murders have received significant media coverage because a photo and audio recording of a man believed to be the girls' murderer was found on German's cell phone. Despite the photo and audio recording of the suspect being released to the public by police, and over 26,000 tips being sent to police, no arrests have been made in the case.
Video Murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German
Murders
At 1:45 p.m. on February 13, 2017, two friends, 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German, were dropped off by a family member (Libby's older sister Kelsi) at an abandoned bridge where they planned to go hiking. The girls were reported missing at 5:30 p.m. after they did not arrive to be picked up from the bridge. Authorities initially did not suspect foul play was involved in the disappearance until the bodies of the girls were found at noon the next day, about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from the bridge. The bodies were discovered around noon on February 14, 2017 about 50 feet from the north bank of Deer Creek.
Police have not publicly stated how the girls were murdered.
Maps Murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German
Investigation
On February 15, police released a photo of a man they wanted to speak to about the murders, but did not officially identify him as a suspect until February 19. Police later released an audio recording of the suspect allegedly saying "Down the hill". The photo and voice recording were taken from German's cell phone. Authorities have indicated that more evidence relating to the suspect was found on the phone, but it will not be released so as not to "compromise any future trial". As of June 16, police had received an estimated 18,000 tips, with four to five new tips coming in daily.
Police released a composite sketch and description of the suspect on July 17. He is described as a white male between 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm) and 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm) tall, weighing between 180 (82 kg) and 220 pounds (100 kg) with reddish-brown hair.
There has been much speculation on the circumstances surrounding the "snapchat killer" and these murders. There are also some questions related to the information released to the public. Law enforcement pointed out an atypical gait by the subject but many online sleuths noted the bridge would necessitate an awkward gait- simply to navigate the decrepit wooden bridge. Others question how closely the police sketch seems to match the video "still" footage. In addition to other persons of interest, early in the investigation, a nearby property owner was arrested (related to a DWI charge and probation violation), though he too, was ruled out as a suspect early on and suffered bias within the grieving community who was looking for the girls' killer. Others question the connection to a nearby meatpacking plant where law enforcement conducted a search warrant and bagged up items from worker uniform (boots etc.). Others still question if the girls were murdered on site or removed and then returned after the search party left the first night. There has also been speculation around the community of Delphi and certain online forums that the murders may be a drug-related, murder for hire scenario targeting Liberty German as revenge for something her father, Derrick German had done. Abigail Williams was murdered as well in order to ensure there were no witnesses. However, this again is pure speculation at the moment and there are no solid facts to back this theory up currently.
Person of interest
In September 2017, a possible suspect was identified with the arrest of Daniel J. Nations in Colorado. Nations is a registered sex offender in Indiana and was driving a car with expired Indiana license plates at the time of his arrest. Nations was arrested in Woodland Park for threatening people with a hatchet on a Monument hiking trail. A bicyclist was also fatally shot on the trail around the same time Nations was allegedly threatening people. An El Paso County Sheriff's official told reporters there are "many similarities" between the cases but stated that Indiana investigators did not want any more information released.
Daniel Nations was sentenced to three years probation on January 5, 2018, for the charge of threatening hikers in Colorado. Because he has an active warrant from another county, Nations still is being held in police custody.
Nations was transferred to Indiana custody on an unrelated charge on January 24, 2018.
In early February 2018, police announced that Nations was no longer considered an active person of interest in the Delphi murders.
Memorials
In August 2017 the girls' families announced plans to construct a $1 million sports complex in Delphi in their memory.
In response to a request from German's mother, homeowners across central Indiana have installed orange light bulbs on their front porches, both to honor the slain girls and to indicate that their murderer remains at large.
See also
- List of murdered American children
- List of unsolved deaths
References
External links
- Delphi Homicide Investigation - Indiana State Police
Source of article : Wikipedia
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