unsolved: the delphi murders
13-year-old Abbey Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German were two best friends attending Delphi Community Middle School in Delphi, Indiana, a small town consisting of around 3000 residents. Due to their shared common interests, the girls had formed an unbreakable bond at a young age, competing in sports together and taking part in a range of extra-curricular activities.
Due to an unused school day, their school was scheduled to be closed on Monday. So the girls made prior plans to go hiking together at Monon High Bridge, a common hangout spot for teenagers. On Monday 13th February 2017, Liberty's older sister dropped the girls off at their destination at around 1:30pm on her way to work. Derik, Liberty's father agreed to collect the girls two hours after their arrival at the same spot, after spending the time running some errands. Similar to many teenagers in the modern world, the young women decided to share their adventures on social media. At 2:07pm Liberty uploaded a picture on Snapchat of Abigail smiling as she crossed the abandoned bridge, with both of them appearing to have a joyous time.
At approximately 3:11pm, Derik text Liberty explaining that he was about to arrive, and encouraged the girls to meet him at the agreed destination. Three minutes later he pulled into the parking areas, yet the two had not yet arrived. After texting Liberty once more, and attempting to call her, alarm bells starting ringing and Derik began walking the trail to search for the girls. Fifteen minutes later with no luck, Derik began worrying and contacted his mother to alert her to the unfolding situation. She responded by attempting to contact Liberty, but after no luck, she called her husband, Mike, who left work in order to assist Derik with search efforts. After no further success, the men contacted to local authorities to report both girls missing.
As family members and friends used social media to alert the community of the situation, hundreds of concerned residents began showing up at Monon High Bridge, alongside all areas of authority, in an attempt to locate the girls. Police contacted Liberty's phone provider in order to pinpoint her last active location, however, this attempt was unsuccessful. As darkness began to fall, search efforts proved difficult due to the number of surrounding woodlands, and the investigation was placed on hold until the morning. Carroll County Sheriff released a statement on the evening of the girl's disappearance stating that the police had 'no reason to suspect foul play' at that time.
Shortly before noon the next morning, after the search for Liberty and Abbey resumed, a local resident assisting with the search stumbled across the bodies of two young girls, half a mile from the Monon High Bridge. On the afternoon of February 15th, 2017 the Indiana State Police held a press conference where they, alongside the Carrol County Sheriff's Department, confirmed that the two bodies confirmed were that of Abigail Williams and Liberty German, alongside the announcement of an ongoing homicide investigation. To this day, police have not yet publicly stated how the girls were murdered.
In addition to the announcement, the police released a grainy photograph of an unidentified male walking across Monon High Bridge at the same time as the two girls. It was not until February 19th that he was officially declared the prime suspect in the case, and the public was urged to come forward with any information regarding his identity. Police have stated that they are looking for a middle-aged caucasian male between 5'6-5'10 in height, roughly 190 pounds and possibly reddish-brown hair. He was wearing a blue coat, denim blue jeans, brown boots or shoes and a brown undergarment which may be a piece of clothing or a fanny pack. The photograph of the suspect had been recovered from the Snapchat of Liberty, who had captured him whilst taking a video of Abbey on the bridge. Three dates later a vital piece of evidence was released, with the police sharing a snippet of audio captured by Liberty of a man directing them 'down the hill'. Authorities have indicated that there may be a further piece of evidence recovered from Liberty's phone, however, are currently reluctant to release the information due to it affecting any future trials.
After thousands of leads, lending no luck to the case, investigators believed they may have caught the big break they needed in September 2017. Daniel Nations, a troubled child who lived a very dangerous lifestyle, had been captured in Colorado after failing to appear in court as well as threatening people with a hatchet on a biking trail. Nations was a registered sex offender who resided in Indiana and was arrested with a rifle as well as a hatchet in his car when captured. Although Nations was sentenced to three years probation for threatening those on biking trails, as of February 2018 police announced he was no longer considered an active suspect in the Delphi murders case.
To this day, the families of Liberty German and Abigail Williams are doing everything in their power to keep the memory of the two girls alive. A million dollar sports complex is being constructed in their memory, consisting of multiple activities for the community of Delphi, alongside a plaque to honour their memory. Orange light bulbs can be seen to light up homes across the community to raise awareness of their disappearance, and the families continue to keep the case in the spotlight. Regardless of the hundreds of leads which have been given to the police department, the homicide remains unsolved.
more info/sources-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1EhlIYgaFE
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/8me20b/the_unsolved_delphi_indiana_murders_of_abigail/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Abigail_Williams_and_Liberty_German
https://eu.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2017/04/13/2-months-later-5-questions-delphi-killings/100413504/
As ever I think it is important to remind you why I write these cases. Since the start of my blog I have had a focus on True Crime, writing unsolved, missing, unidentified and fact file cases. None of my intentions is to hurt, offend or accuse anyone in any way shape or form. Personally, I find cases like these heartbreaking and intriguing, I want to help. I want to be able to read a case, every single part of a case and hypotheses about it. Most importantly, I want other people to do that too. I could write this post, and someone else could see it. That one person may know something or may speak about it to somebody that knows something. Writing this could truly help. I never claim to get all of my facts right, in fact, there have been many times I have had to edit previous cases due to misinformation, however that's what happens when you use a range of sources. If I ever get anything wrong, please feel free to let me know, because I want to get the information correct. I just wanted to make this all clear, because I have heard multiple comments directed to me and other blogs that discuss True Crime about how pointless and boring it is. That is your opinion, it doesn't mean it's the truth.
twitter.com/tnmperance
instagram.com/talkingtoelise
pinterest.com/elssthinks
elssthinks@gmail.com
As family members and friends used social media to alert the community of the situation, hundreds of concerned residents began showing up at Monon High Bridge, alongside all areas of authority, in an attempt to locate the girls. Police contacted Liberty's phone provider in order to pinpoint her last active location, however, this attempt was unsuccessful. As darkness began to fall, search efforts proved difficult due to the number of surrounding woodlands, and the investigation was placed on hold until the morning. Carroll County Sheriff released a statement on the evening of the girl's disappearance stating that the police had 'no reason to suspect foul play' at that time.
Shortly before noon the next morning, after the search for Liberty and Abbey resumed, a local resident assisting with the search stumbled across the bodies of two young girls, half a mile from the Monon High Bridge. On the afternoon of February 15th, 2017 the Indiana State Police held a press conference where they, alongside the Carrol County Sheriff's Department, confirmed that the two bodies confirmed were that of Abigail Williams and Liberty German, alongside the announcement of an ongoing homicide investigation. To this day, police have not yet publicly stated how the girls were murdered.
In addition to the announcement, the police released a grainy photograph of an unidentified male walking across Monon High Bridge at the same time as the two girls. It was not until February 19th that he was officially declared the prime suspect in the case, and the public was urged to come forward with any information regarding his identity. Police have stated that they are looking for a middle-aged caucasian male between 5'6-5'10 in height, roughly 190 pounds and possibly reddish-brown hair. He was wearing a blue coat, denim blue jeans, brown boots or shoes and a brown undergarment which may be a piece of clothing or a fanny pack. The photograph of the suspect had been recovered from the Snapchat of Liberty, who had captured him whilst taking a video of Abbey on the bridge. Three dates later a vital piece of evidence was released, with the police sharing a snippet of audio captured by Liberty of a man directing them 'down the hill'. Authorities have indicated that there may be a further piece of evidence recovered from Liberty's phone, however, are currently reluctant to release the information due to it affecting any future trials.
After thousands of leads, lending no luck to the case, investigators believed they may have caught the big break they needed in September 2017. Daniel Nations, a troubled child who lived a very dangerous lifestyle, had been captured in Colorado after failing to appear in court as well as threatening people with a hatchet on a biking trail. Nations was a registered sex offender who resided in Indiana and was arrested with a rifle as well as a hatchet in his car when captured. Although Nations was sentenced to three years probation for threatening those on biking trails, as of February 2018 police announced he was no longer considered an active suspect in the Delphi murders case.
To this day, the families of Liberty German and Abigail Williams are doing everything in their power to keep the memory of the two girls alive. A million dollar sports complex is being constructed in their memory, consisting of multiple activities for the community of Delphi, alongside a plaque to honour their memory. Orange light bulbs can be seen to light up homes across the community to raise awareness of their disappearance, and the families continue to keep the case in the spotlight. Regardless of the hundreds of leads which have been given to the police department, the homicide remains unsolved.
more info/sources-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1EhlIYgaFE
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/8me20b/the_unsolved_delphi_indiana_murders_of_abigail/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Abigail_Williams_and_Liberty_German
https://eu.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2017/04/13/2-months-later-5-questions-delphi-killings/100413504/
As ever I think it is important to remind you why I write these cases. Since the start of my blog I have had a focus on True Crime, writing unsolved, missing, unidentified and fact file cases. None of my intentions is to hurt, offend or accuse anyone in any way shape or form. Personally, I find cases like these heartbreaking and intriguing, I want to help. I want to be able to read a case, every single part of a case and hypotheses about it. Most importantly, I want other people to do that too. I could write this post, and someone else could see it. That one person may know something or may speak about it to somebody that knows something. Writing this could truly help. I never claim to get all of my facts right, in fact, there have been many times I have had to edit previous cases due to misinformation, however that's what happens when you use a range of sources. If I ever get anything wrong, please feel free to let me know, because I want to get the information correct. I just wanted to make this all clear, because I have heard multiple comments directed to me and other blogs that discuss True Crime about how pointless and boring it is. That is your opinion, it doesn't mean it's the truth.
twitter.com/tnmperance
instagram.com/talkingtoelise
pinterest.com/elssthinks
elssthinks@gmail.com
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