The killer ‘may be in this room’ – Indiana police release new video and a sketch of male suspect they believe murdered two teenage girls on a hiking trail in 2017 during an emotional press conference
Police release new video and a sketch of the man they believe murdered two teenage girls on a hiking trail in Indiana two years ago
During an emotional press conference police released a new sketch of the killer on Monday and warned that he likely lives or works in the Delphi area – The investigator told the audience that the killer ‘may be in this room’
Cops believe suspect is male, between the ages of 18 and 40, and either lives or lived in Delphi or works in the area
Liberty German, 14, and Abigail William, 13, vanished on Feb 13, 2017 while hiking near an abandoned railroad bridge in Delphi, Indiana
The girls were reported missing after failing to meet a relative at a pre-arranged pickup location after their hike
Their bodies were found the next day on a property about half-a-mile away
At Monday’s conference, authorities also released a video showing the killer walking along the bridge where the girls had been
They had previously only released a grainy photo of the suspect on the bridge, audio of him saying ‘down the hill’ and a now secondary sketch of his face is made public
Indiana Police released this sketch on Monday of the man they say murdered Liberty German, 14, and Abigail William, 13, in Delphi on February 13, 2013
Authorities have released a new sketch and footage of the man they say murdered two teenage girls on an Indiana hiking trail two years ago as they warn that the killer is likely ‘hiding in plain sight’.
Liberty German, 14, and Abigail William, 13, vanished on February 13, 2017 after a relative dropped them off for a hike near the Monon High Bridge – an abandoned railroad bridge near their hometown of Delphi.
They failed to show up at a pre-arranged pickup location. Their bodies were found the next day following a search in a rugged, wooded area at the back of a property about half-a-mile away.
New information was released on Monday in the two-year-old investigation as an emotional Indiana State Police Superintendent appealed to the ‘little bit of a conscience’ that the killer had left.
Authorities released the sketch and footage of the killer on the Monon High Bridge where the girls had been. They also released updated audio of the killer speaking. The footage and audio was retrieved from Liberty’s cellphone.
Police said they believe the man is between the ages of 18 and 40 and either lives or lived in Delphi or works in the area.
Supt.
Doug Carter addressed the killer directly during the emotional press conference and acknowledged he could even be in the room.
‘We have a witness. You made mistakes. We are coming for you and there’s no place for a heartless coward like you to hide that gets his thrill from killing little girls,’ he said.
‘We believe you are hiding in plain sight. For more than two years you never thought we would shift gears to a different investigative strategy but we have.
13-year-old Abigail William, [left] and her best friend Liberty German, 14, [right] vanished on February 13, 2017 when they went hiking near Delphi, Indiana on a day off from school
Two days after the girls were killed, police released the grainy image of a man walking on the same bridge Liberty and Abigail were on.
And on Monday Indiana Police Superintendent Doug Carter addressed the killer directly during the emotional press conference and acknowledged he could even be in the room.
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‘We know this is about power to you and you want to know what we know. One day, you will. What will those closest to you think of when they find out you brutally murdered to little girls. Only a coward would do such a thing. We are confident that you have told someone what you have done.
‘I believe you have just a little bit of a conscience left. I can assure you, that how you left them in that woods is not what they’re experiencing today.’
In releasing the footage, investigators invited members of the public to examine the way the man walked to see if it was someone they recognized.
In addition to releasing the new sketch and additional video, investigators said they needed help identifying the driver of a vehicle that was abandoned near the DCS welfare building in Delphi on February 14.
Police have disclosed few details in their two-year investigation and have never publicly revealed how the teenagers were killed despite an autopsies being carried out.
Liberty German had posted photos of herself on Snapchat walking on the bridge where they were last known to be, on the same day she and Abigail vanished
Investigators on a multi-agency task force have gone through tens of thousands of leads looking for a man who forced the teenagers off the trail.
Prior to Monday’s announcement, police had only released three pieces of evidence related to the murders in the two-year investigation.
Within days of the killings, authorities released two grainy photos of a suspect walking along the abandoned railroad bridge the two girls had visited.
Liberty had posted photos of herself on Snapchat walking on the bridge on the day she and Abigail vanished.
Authorities also released an audio recording of a man believed to be the suspect saying ‘down the hill’.
The images and recordings came from Liberty’s cellphone and police hailed her as a hero for recording the potentially crucial evidence.
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‘We have likely interviewed you, or someone close to you’: Indiana Police Superintendent Doug Carter addressed the killer directly during the emotional press conference and acknowledged he could even be in the room
In July 2017, authorities also released an FBI artist’s composite sketch of the suspect from eyewitnesses who believe they saw the man in Delphi. Investigators on Monday revealed that initial sketch was now secondary.
The sketch showed a white man with a prominent nose and goatee and wearing a cap and a hooded sweater. Police initially revealed the suspect had reddish-brown hair, was between 5-foot-6 and five-foot-10 and weighs between 180 and 220 pounds.
Ronald Logan, the man who owns the property where the girls were found, was questioned and a search warrant was issued for his home immediately after their bodies were found. Police later said he was not considered a suspect.
Indiana detectives also traveled to Colorado in late 2017 to question convicted sex offender Daniel Nations over the deaths. Nations, who had been living homeless in the Delphi area at the time, was initially a suspect but police later revealed that was no longer the case.
Investigators received a number of calls to the tip line in January this year after an Indiana man was arrested for alleged child sex abuse.
The girls vanished after a relative dropped them off for a hike near the Monon High Bridge.The Snapchat photo Liberty posted before they failed to show up at a pre-arranged pickup location.
The callers reported that 46-year-old Charles Eldridge bore a resemblance to the sketch police released in relation to the teens’ murders.
Eldridge has been in custody since January 8 after he was apprehended in an unrelated sting operation for allegedly arranging to meet up with who he thought was a 13-year-old girl for sex.
Upon his arrest, Eldridge allegedly admitted to officers that he’d had multiple sexual encounters with another child under the age of 13.
Liberty and Abigail were eighth graders at Delphi Community Middle School when they were killed. Both girls played softball and were gearing up for spring practices before they died
Investigators on a multi-agency task force have gone through tens of thousands of leads looking for a man who forced the teenagers off the trail
He was given five new child molestation charges last week, which are believed to be related to the second alleged child sex abuse victim. The new sketch does not appear to have any resemblance to Eldridge.
A reward of more than $230,000 had been offered for information leading to an arrest or arrests and convictions in the teens’ killings.
Liberty and Abigail were eighth graders at Delphi Community Middle School when they were killed.
Both girls played softball and were gearing up for spring practices before they died.
The murders shook Delphi, a small town of 2,877 people set amid farm fields of the Hoosier heartland, about 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis.
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