Delphi murder victim’s sister says ‘catfish’ bombshell brought up ‘old wounds’ & thinks cops are close to finding killer
THE sister of a girl slain in the Delphi ‘Snapchat murders’ says news of a potential breakthrough in the case reopened “old wounds” last week but has also given her hope that police are finally close to catching her sibling’s killer.
Kelsi German, 21, told The Sun that she reacted with shock when Indiana State Police investigators announced last Tuesday that they were probing a bogus social media account, called anthony_shots, in relation to her sister Libby’s death.
Libby German, 14, was murdered alongside her best friend, Abby Williams, 13, in February 2017, a short distance away from the Monon High Bridge Trail, in Delphi. Their killer has never been found.
Kelsi was one of the last people to see the two young teens alive. She had dropped the pair off at the Delphi Historic Trails on the afternoon of Feb. 13 but they failed to show at a pre-arranged pick-up point later that day.
Their bodies were found less than 24 hours later in a wooded area close to the Monon Trail. Police have never publicly released how Libby and Abby were killed.
Investigators have shared very few updates in the almost five years that have since passed.
However, that changed last Tuesday when Indiana State Police issued a rare press release about the case, seeking information about the antony_shots profile and asking anyone who interacted with the account on Instagram or Snapchat to come forward.
Police have not revealed why they believe the account may be linked to the murders of Abby and Libby.
However, they say the culprit behind it – since revealed to be Kegan Anthony Kline – used stolen images of a known male model and projected a contrived flashy lifestyle to groom underage girls and “solicit nude images, obtain their addresses, and attempt to meet them.”
‘OLD WOUNDS’
While Kelsi and her family await further updates, the forensic science student said the latest development in the case was initially difficult for her to process.
“Every time they release information, whether it’s just to us or to the public, it always brings up old wounds,” Kelsi said.
“It was hard to hear but it did also make us hopeful because they finally revealed something to the public for the first time in what had seemed like forever.”
She continued: “It gives you a renewed sense of hope and just helps us to continue to realize that detectives are still doing absolutely everything they can to get justice for Abby and Libby – and give us, the families, the answers we deserve.”
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Kegan Kline, 27, is currently in police custody in Miami after being arrested and charged in August 2020 with 30 felonies, including possession of child porn, exploitation of children, and soliciting minors for sex.
Those charges stem from a search of his home in Peru, Indiana on February 25th, 2017 – just 11 days after the bodies of Libby and Abby were found in Delphi.
According to an affidavit, Kline admitted to investigators that he used a series of fake social media profiles on Instagram and Snapchat to contact underage girls and solicit nude images from them.
One of those accounts was anthony_shots, which he set up in 2016 around six months before his house was raided.
It’s unclear whether Kline is currently being investigated as a suspect in the relation to the Delphi murders.
In a statement released on Monday, the department said such questions are “certainly relevant” but declined to comment further.
“During the last nearly five years, we have conducted dozens of secondary investigations based on information we received. One of those investigations included a Possession of Child Pornography case resulting in the arrest of Kegan Kline.
“The information we had, have, and continue to receive concerning Kline has ebbed and flowed over these last few years.”
The statement continued: “We know there is enormous interest in the ‘WHY’ of everything we do, but we cannot and will not speculate. One day you will have the opportunity to see and know what we do, and we look forward to that day.”
JUSTICE ‘CLOSER EACH DAY’
Despite the police remaining tight-lipped, Kelsi said she is confident that authorities are “getting closer every day” to catching the suspect responsible for her sister’s death.
“I think every day, they’re another day closer. And I’ve always believed that even before the information was released.
“I think giving the public more information is just another sign that they’re still working and that we’re another step closer to hopefully finding that final puzzle piece that we’ve been looking for.”
Kelsi has previously sowed doubt on other potential suspects who have been linked to the case, but said she “wasn’t sure” this time if the culprit behind the anthony_shots account could be the man responsible.
“I think in the past when there were names put out in the media that was more the media putting them out there, but I think this is the first time we’ve ever seen police put out any sort of name about a potential suspect.
“But as of now, we don’t know if anthony_shots is or isn’t connected to the case.
“So I really don’t think I can say if he’s the guy or not until law enforcement gives us a few more answers.”
She continued: “But hopefully, eventually, we’ll get to know those answers.”
‘I HOPE YOU’RE SQUIRMING’
Kelsi told The Sun that she had never before heard of, or seen, the anthony_shots account, and said her sister never told her of any strangers contacting her online in the days and weeks before her death.
She also said that she has long believed that social media “didn’t have anything to do with the case”, but she’s reconsidering her stance in light of the police’s latest avenue of investigation.
“Libby never told me anything about anybody contacting her online,” Kelsi said. “But since the latest release happened, it just made me think that even if she had told us or if we would have said something, then she’d have likely kept messaging anyway because teenagers like to hide things, unfortunately.
“But that’s just something we can’t speculate about now. I guess we’ll never really know until we have all the facts.”
Kelsi continued: “I’ve always said that there’s no way that our detectives are going to stop until they have answers. And I think every day is another day closer to having those answers.
“And they’re going to continue doing everything they can. And as a family, we’ll continue to do everything we can to help them reach that goal and they’ll continue to do everything they can to help us continue to help them.”
Kelsi, who is currently studying forensic science at Purdue University in hope of one day helping other families like hers who’ve been afflicted by tragedy, said she has long dreamt of the moment her sister’s killer is finally caught.
Speaking directly to the culprit, she said: “I hope that you’re squirming right now, knowing we are one step closer to finding you.”
