HLN’s broadcast Sunday night updating the killings of Libby German and Abby Williams included never-reported information, including details about the recording Libby made and an interview with Kegan Kline, a suspect in a Miami County child exploitation and child pornography case.
HLN reporter Barbara MacDonald reported she spoke with Kline in December after the Indiana State Police indicated Kline’s social media profile “anthony_shots” was of interest in the Feb. 13, 2017, killings of Libby and Abby.
More:Five years after their unsolved murder, Delphi teens still mourned
MacDonald interviewed Kline over a jailhouse phone and videoed the interview.
She asked why the state police focused on Kline’s catfish social media profile.
“I have not a clue,” Kline told HLN. “I think it’s because they said I was the last person to talk to her, is what they told me.”
Kline told HLN he did not recall communicating with Libby over the profile, but police say he did.
HLN’s broadcast has MacDonald asking Kline if he had anything to do with the girls’ killings.
“No, not at all, and I gave up my DNA and hair follicle test and done everything they wanted me to,” Kline responded.
More:Affidavit links man to fictitious social media profile cited in Delphi murder investigation
The probable cause affidavit for Kline’s 30 charges in Miami County indicated police first interviewed Kline on Feb. 25, 2017 — 12 days after the girls were killed. In the affidavit, it indicates they spoke with him about two investigations. One case was tied to the Miami County charges and a second investigation, which had its case number blacked out in the public version of the affidavit.
No charges in Abby Williams, Libby German’s killings
Kline has not been charged with the killings of Abby or Libby, and Indiana State Police Sgt. Jeremy Piers declined to comment about anything Kline commented on, saying it was an ongoing investigation.
HLN asked if Indiana State Police have threatened to charge him for the Delphi killings. Kline said they have not.
HLN asked if he thought he will be charged for killing Libby and Abby, Kline said, “No. No, I don’t.”
HLN also reported Sunday that an unsealed return for a search warrant in 2017 indicated that the video recording Libby made was 43 seconds long, and the killer’s voice saying, “Girls, go down the hill,” appears at the end of the recording.
HLN also reported the time stamp of that video was 2:13 p.m., Feb. 13, 2017.
The girls went to hike the trails east of town on the unusually warm afternoon on Feb. 13. The kids were out of school for the day.
They didn’t show up at the rendezvous site with Libby’s family members, and a search soon followed. It was resumed the morning of Feb. 14 with an army of volunteers.
The girls’ bodies were found east of the Monon High Bridge on the north side of Deer Creek, just south of the Delphi Cemetery.
Police have not made any arrests, and prosecutors have not charged anyone with the girls’ killings.
Before their killer led them off the trails, Libby had the presence of mind to video the man police believe is her killer, as well as record his voice as he ordered the girls to leave the trail and “go down the hill.”
But as HLN reported Sunday, the video is only 43 seconds long and the command to “go down the hill” comes at the end of the video.
How to help the investigation
Indiana State Police published a news release on Dec. 6 looking for people who might have had contact with a man using a web alias anthony_shots on Instagram and Snapchat.
Libby’s grandfather, Mike Patty, asked people to talk to their nieces, their daughters and their female friends who now are in their late teens or early 20s. Check old phones or tablets and see if they had contact with anthony_shots.
Kline is the man behind the profile for anthony_shots, according to Miami County prosecutors who charged him with 30 crimes, including possession of child porn, child solicitation and obstruction of justice for allegedly deleting images on his iPhone.
Tips
Tips about the killings may be emailed to [email protected] or by phone at 765-882-3535.
Reach Ron Wilkins at [email protected]. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism