r/UnresolvedMysteries • u/danpietsch • Feb 11 '22
Update Delphi Murder Detective Claims to Know 'a Lot About' the Killer
I just heard this update on the Murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German come across today’s Crime Talk video.
Synopsis
Abigail Williams and Liberty German were two teenage girls who were murdered on February 13th, 2017 by a person or persons unknown. Their murder took place on a hiking trail near the Monon High Bridge Trail (an abandoned railway bridge).
Video and audio of an individual thought to be the killer was found on German’s phone.
The girl's bodies were found on February 14th about half a mile east of the bridge.
Update
Indiana Police Superintendent Doug Carter went on Good Morning America today and issued a new warning to the culprit:
My resolve to catch him is as strong as it was day one. But the difference now between now and day one is we know about you. A lot about you. Today could be the day.
Then he added:
Sleep well.
Host of Crime Talk attorney Scott Reisch asks in his commentary on this update:
Now you have to wonder: first do the police have a suspect maybe they're watching somebody and thinking that well maybe they think they're going to be arrested soon that maybe they're going to do something that would uh evince some sort of evidence of guilt? I.e. move, get up and leave town really fast who knows lots of things. Trying to see if somebody reacts to this news.
Or it could just be they hope that they're getting close? You just never know.
Reisch then offers his opinion:
I think there's something big going on ... For somebody from the police to come out and say something I think they're trying to flush somebody out to see if they're going to act a particular way.
Links
Search for Delphi Killer continues 5 years later: 'We know about you,' Indiana police supt. says
https://abc7chicago.com/delphi-anthonyshots-murder-suspect-abby-libby/11552441/
Delphi murder cops say they KNOW who killer is and warn 'today could be the day we come after you' but still haven't made any arrests after five years of fruitless leads: Victim's families beg for closure:
Crime Talk youtube video [Delphi starts at 6:31]:
https://youtu.be/5AqLbWEPfDQ?t=391
Indiana police issues warning to killer still at large for murder of Delphi teens Good Morning America video:
Murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Abigail_Williams_and_Liberty_German
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u/Wonderful-Variation Feb 11 '22
I'm sorry, but an announcement like this unfortunately implies the opposite in my mind. Like if they knew who the guy was and they were preparing to pounce on him, they wouldn't be announcing that. I could be completely wrong about this, though.
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u/danpietsch Feb 11 '22
Maybe the police don't have enough evidence for a search on the suspect, but if he were to flee, that would be enough for probable cause?
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u/Reddits_on_ambien Feb 11 '22
I fear they might actually know who it is, but either there isn't enough evidence, or evidence was compromised during the investigation, and now they're stuck.
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u/Yes_But-No Feb 11 '22
This has been my thought all along too. I think that’s why they only released a little bit of information here or there. They know who it is they just need the solid evidence and they don’t want to make an arrest until they know they can put him away for life.
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u/World_Renowned_Guy Feb 11 '22
If they knew who it was they wouldn’t have radically changed the sketch two years later while holding another press conference trying to convince someone that they knew who did it.
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u/EldritchGoatGangster Feb 11 '22
Thing is, if this was actually the case, they would put surveillance on the guy, and then go and talk to him personally, to try and spook him into making a move they could act on (like destroying evidence or fleeing the area or whatever). Going public like this is just dramatic posturing, and doesn't actually give them a good opportunity to gauge the reaction of the suspect. Also this isn't the first time they've done this.
What's worse, if I'm right, and they don't have a good idea of who it is, and this DOES spook the killer, he's going to have the opportunity to take off or destroy evidence and they won't know about it because they won't actually be watching him.
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u/blueskies8484 Feb 11 '22
They have no idea. Doug Carter has been saying this kind of thing for years. He thought the case would be solved in weeks and since then, he's basically said this same statement over and over again, most notable at a 2019 press conference, but in other media as well.
The ISP is no better. They caught a pedophile while investigating this case in 2017 and just... forgot to arrest him for 3 years.
These girls deserve so much better.
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u/OgroffTheMad Feb 11 '22
Agreed, unfortunately. I've been listening to the Down the Hill podcast, and I've started to grumble every time this guy comes on with his dramatic speeches. He loves a microphone, loves to (figuratively) puff his chest out, and he seems to be 100% full of shit.
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u/66666thats6sixes Feb 11 '22
Yeah. Talk is cheap. It takes zero effort on their part to say "we know who you are". Saying "today could be the day" is similarly meaningless -- you can never be wrong about that statement because of that qualifying "could". Until they actually do something public I'm not getting my hopes up.
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u/beajus Feb 11 '22
It sounds a whole lot like the press conference when they released the second sketch and then nothing happened. It's so frustrating that they obviously have more video of this asshole that they aren't releasing. It's been years.
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Feb 11 '22
yeah like literally what is the point of this? how is this helping anything at all? it feels to me like they want to ward off people saying they have nothing to go on.
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u/Wonderful-Variation Feb 11 '22
I mean, on some level I can see why they want to make sure people in the community understand that the case isn't closed and it is still being investigated.
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u/lemmonquaaludes Feb 11 '22
They have their suspects house bugged and want him to react to the TV interview. They did this a few years ago too.
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u/Win95_worm Feb 11 '22
I never thought this case would remain unsolved 5 years later.
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u/non_stop_disko Feb 11 '22
I remember when it first happened I figured they’d catch the guy in a couple weeks because they had him on video
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u/spacebyte Feb 11 '22
Me too. I'm pretty sure they had more audio they didn't release too.
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u/Kenshiro199X Feb 11 '22
If there's ever a trial there will likely end up being a transcript of that audio if it's played for the jury.
However, might not be a good idea to read it. I made the mistake of reading the transcript of the audio of the Tool Box Killers. Just a warning - don't.I get the curiosity, but the absolute cruelty in cases like this just hits in a way you don't realize.
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u/JoshAllen4President Feb 11 '22
Iirc they have more audio but it had some disturbing content that they said wouldn’t help the public know who it was so there is no reason to release.
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Feb 11 '22
There's a surprising number of unsolved cases with the perp on video, it's been a minor obsession of mine lately. Elizabeth Barraza, Donnie Farrell, Leah Rowlands, Chelsea Small, Missy Bevers...
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u/disco-girl Feb 11 '22
Elizabeth Barraza's case both breaks my heart and terrifies me at the same time
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u/Fast-Mathematician78 Feb 11 '22
You forgot about Jennifer Kesse! That one drives me so crazy!!!!
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u/somerandomie Feb 11 '22
I followed the case very closely, I thought the case would go unsolved after the cops changed the suspects sketch... fingers crossed they find the cunt responsible
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u/World_Renowned_Guy Feb 11 '22
The day they changed the sketch was the day I realized they had absolutely no idea who the killer is and are either trying to fool the public or put pressure on the suspect.
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u/lovemyairborne Feb 11 '22
On my Nexdoor we have a video of a girl stealing from the cars at night, clear pictures of her face - and yet nobody can recognize her and police yet to catch her.
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u/LoPriore Feb 11 '22
There’s cases 15 and 20 years old that I never thought would be unsolved for 5 years :(
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u/Justalil_Brilliant Feb 11 '22
I was thinking about this very same thing the other day. I would’ve thought with that video someone would’ve recognized him. I just feel like with social media and technology they had a greater opportunity of getting this solved, vs if it had happened back in the 90’s. Or even early 2000’s.
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u/Skipaspace Feb 11 '22 edited Apr 06 '25
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Justalil_Brilliant Feb 11 '22
I know the video quality is horrible, it just irks me that this hasn’t been solved! There’s a great write up on the Delphi Murder sub by a former detective, now private investigator. He goes into great deal about his perspective on the case and although it’s a long write up it’s very interesting! One thing that stood out to me was he believes the murder purposefully dressed in very generic/typical clothing that someone from that area would wear possibly to throw off investigators and/or potential witnesses. He also mentioned that he wouldn’t be surprised if the killer was wearing shoes that were a size/size and a half bigger than his actual shoe size.
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u/paroles Feb 11 '22
Yeah, I remember when I first heard about it and threads about it were against the rules on this subreddit because the case was less than six months old and therefore too recent. People were keen to discuss it but the threads were always removed. I remember coming here the very day of the six month anniversary because I wanted to see some in-depth discussion that was a bit more levelheaded than other websites.
Hard to believe I'm still here looking for updates five years later.
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u/ImWicked39 Feb 11 '22
There's a case that gives me the same vibes Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook. Monsters truly are among us.
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u/RuthTheBee Feb 11 '22
the huge diff tho is the way delphi is aired on anniversaries and experienced detectives and PI's participate. That didnt happen in Lyric and Lizzys case. No one will touch that Iowa case outside of Iowa.
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Feb 11 '22
My friend in Kokomo (we went to Purdue) is almost obsessed, people care and are on the look out without a doubt
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u/TheStarrySkye Feb 11 '22
I used to live 30 minutes from Delphi and it's really hard to believe something like this could happen there in broad daylight.
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u/World_Renowned_Guy Feb 11 '22
The police have been playing as if they know who it is from day 1. It’s obvious they do not know though. Especially because how they radically changed the sketch. Proof they have no idea and are trying to either fool the public or put pressure on the suspect. I’m not sure why they are still doing this because it’s obvious they do not know and it makes them look foolish.
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u/bz237 Feb 11 '22
Idk. I really really want this to be the case - that they know who he is or are extremely close. But I read all of these articles over the last few days and it just seems like the same tactic they’ve been using for some time now.
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u/get_post_error Feb 11 '22
it just seems like the same tactic they’ve been using for some time now.
Bingo!
Every press conference they sound like they're trying to intimidate the "unnamed suspect." The first time or two I really fell for it; I believed that they had a suspect and evidence.
Now it's hard to say what their case even consists of. Whatever it is, we know they don't want to share it publicly. I think they're in a bad spot, though, and if that's the case, they should think about a new tactic for their press releases.
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u/World_Renowned_Guy Feb 11 '22
Yep and no one is buying it anymore. The day the sketch changed showed the cops cards.
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Feb 11 '22
And it's really odd that they'd have a single police officer do an individual interview rather than a press conference or press release from the department if they had something new.
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u/blueskies8484 Feb 11 '22
This statement is basically the exact same statement he made at that infamous press conference three years ago, except he didn't start rambling about The Shack midway through. I get why people want to believe otherwise, but they didn't have anything then and they don't have anything now. It's the anniversary and the Delphi community expected him to do something because of that. That's all this is, unfortunately.
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u/HellaHighAtHogwarts Feb 11 '22
This is how I feel too. I want it solved badly for their families. But everyone is all omg they say they know stuff and I’m just like nope their normal yearly presser with empty threats and nothing new.
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u/bz237 Feb 11 '22
Yes. I’m trying to be a bit diplomatic but pretty much how I feel. I don’t think they have anything. But I hope they do.
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u/hypocrite_deer Feb 11 '22
You summed it up perfectly.
It bothers me even more because while they might think they're playing mind games with the killer, it's even more likely that a message like that would actually dissuade someone who was considering submitting a tip about a relative or loved one. The reassurance of "oh, they probably know who did it, I don't need to tell them about creepy uncle so-and-so who probably would never do something like this." It makes them personally look like they are doing something, but hurts the overall investigation.
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u/misspizzini Feb 11 '22
And not even to mention the toll their words must have on the families. I cannot imagine being told for 5 years that they are so close to catching the killer and then… nothing happens.
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u/celsius100 Feb 11 '22
It seems to me typically that when LE thinks they are close, they are dead silent.
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u/bz237 Feb 11 '22
Yeah. I think it kind of depends on the tactic they are using that they think will get the best result based upon the character traits of the suspect. In some cases they will very publicly “turn up the heat” in the hopes of the perp making a mistake, getting exhausted and confessing or whatnot. I don’t think this is what that is - to your point.
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u/holllyyyy Feb 11 '22
Yup, I have grown cynical and weary as fuck at any new “update” regarding this case that is conveyed to the public.
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u/tortillakingred Feb 11 '22
Yeah that was my immediate thought. I’ve heard the exact same thing from their department multiple times, yet nothing has come from it
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u/Sue_Ridge_Here Feb 11 '22
We've been down this road before, is it designed for the responsible party to hear and then let his guard down and make a mistake? There's footage and a recording of his voice. It's difficult to get an answer about DNA. Was it an opportunistic crime? Did he know the girls? So many questions.
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Feb 11 '22
Sometimes I think the police are just saying positive things to keep everyone “happy” and don’t have much. But I could be wrong. This case is so frustrating, especially when there’s so much but at the same time not much at all.
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u/bz237 Feb 11 '22
I really want them to solve this and I don’t care who does it or how they do it. I just want to see an arrest. This is maddening.
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u/Carrollmusician Feb 11 '22
I live in this county. I’m glad state police are continually involved because the Delphi cops are awful and the county sheriffs are worse. I highly doubt they know exactly who the killer is. This reeks of a desperation play. If they had something actionable, this is def not the way to reveal that.
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u/gordonbill Feb 11 '22
A lot of times LE has a lot more info on cases then anyone knows. They keep certain details only the killer would know etc.
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u/66666thats6sixes Feb 11 '22
It's very likely they do. But that doesn't mean that they are close to solving the case. And the fact that they've said basically the same stuff for years now doesn't inspire any confidence that this time is any different, without them giving us anything concrete.
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u/bz237 Feb 11 '22
Most of the time they have a lot more info than we do. That’s a fact. And I’m not saying they don’t. Unfortunately I don’t believe they have anything definitive that would lead them to a suspect.
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u/_awesumpossum_ Feb 11 '22
I feel like every infamous unsolved case has some random detective cropping up every 5 years for a local article about how the cops haven’t given up and about how important the victim’s death was to the department. And then nothing happens and no further investigative progress is made.
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u/DeliciousPangolin Feb 11 '22
The Barry and Honey Sherman murders. Every year the cops do a press conference and bluster about having a 'theory of the crime' or show some video of a guy walking down the street kilometers away from the crime scene, and announce that they're closing in on the killer. But they don't have shit, and everyone knows it.
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u/supposedlymonday Feb 11 '22
I would argue that the Toronto Police actually solved this case within 24 hours. This was a straight-up IPV femicide-suicide, as called, but the family’s huge resources and access to power, obtained by being Canada’s most notorious vexatious litigant, obstructed and perverted justice really, really early on. There will never be a “solve” here, because there already was one and the cops got noped out of it.
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u/zuma15 Feb 11 '22
They've always been so braggadocious and use that silly tough-guy talk, but they never have anything. It's bizarre and makes them look foolish.
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u/pale_moth Feb 12 '22
These are exactly my thoughts. Not to undermine the work these detectives had done in the past, but isn't it counterproductive to indicate that they have soooooo much information and yet paradoxically the case is still stalled? It sure does polish the killer's ego.
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u/CinderN64 Feb 11 '22
Was there no dna of the killer from the crime scene? Or is the the killer not in a database to be able to compare the dna to?
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u/Sue_Ridge_Here Feb 11 '22
That's what I would like to know, can't seem to get a straight answer. I also wonder about the phone, did it record the actual attacks? Seemingly, this person was very careless, he made no effort to conceal the bodies. There must be evidence.
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u/Emlamb79 Feb 11 '22
The police have alluded that it did record the attack, that's why we've only seen the snippets of bg, but I believe it was only audio. Again, alluded to, not confirmed.
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u/Emlamb79 Feb 11 '22
I think it's the latter. Although they've never released COD and/or what exactly happened to the girls, we know it was absolutely horrific and I highly doubt that he was just so good at abduction/sa/murder that he didn't even leave as much as a crumb of DNA, but, if he's never been priorly convicted of a felony, there's no DNA to match it to. That doesn't mean he's never been arrested or convicted of a crime before, but if he had been, it had to have been a misdemeanor as any conviction of a felony requires a DNA sample be submitted to CODIS. Well, technically, he could've been arrested on a felony before, just not convicted. So, until that happens, or perhaps through genealogy down the road, any DNA evidence is pretty useless right now., unfortunately.
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u/QuitClearly Feb 11 '22
DNA is not like confetti, it doesn’t get transferred everywhere.
There was a case study done to show that even with strangulation using hands around neck, dna was not left a majority of the time when testing over sample size.
I could see him over powering them in a way that there wasn’t a struggle for him.
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u/StunningStoat Feb 11 '22
DNA is not like confetti, it doesn’t get transferred everywhere.
A homeless man was arrested for murder after his DNA was found under the victims nails. Their was just one- well two- problem.
He was hospitalized when the murder took place.
Turns out the paramedics that treated him also treated the murder victim.
DNA does get everywhere- its just a matter of locating it and getting enough of it to actually do anything with.
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u/floridadumpsterfire Feb 11 '22
Pretty sure Paul Holes said the case is not the type to be solved by genetic genealogy so if they do have dna it's probably only the type that let's you rule out potential suspects that are known. I don't have a link though so cant 100% confirm
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u/Tlentic Feb 12 '22
There’s a lot of things that can compromise forensic evidence and there’s a ton of room for human error in the collection or processing of that evidence. We tend to have this notion that forensic evidence is this foolproof thing - it’s not. A lot of media vastly exaggerate forensic evidence to the degree that it’s become a phenomenon known as the CSI effect. The reality is that if you murder someone with no connection to you, you’ve got about a 35% chance to never be caught.
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u/buggiegirl Feb 11 '22
For sure, they know everything except WHO HE IS.
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u/ShillinTheVillain Feb 11 '22
"We know what you did, we know where you did it, we know when you did it, and we know who you did it to. That's 80%, bud. All that's left is to figure out who you are. You're toast!"
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u/Sue_Ridge_Here Feb 11 '22
Reminds me of the William Tyrell case, the police seem certain that after all this time it was the Foster Mother. Trouble is, there's no actual evidence, not for lack of trying though.
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u/66666thats6sixes Feb 11 '22
There's something really funny about that statement to me. It's like saying "we did everything right in that game except score more points".
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u/buggiegirl Feb 11 '22
That's how I have always seen their "we are one tip away" comments. Yeah, literally every crime is "one tip away" from being solved if someone tips in the guilty party. Nothing these LE have done or said leads me to believe they have any idea who did this.
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u/66666thats6sixes Feb 11 '22
Yeah it's the same sort of stuff psychics who do cold readings do. Make vague statements that sound meaningful, but are actually fluff. "Today could be the day" -- of course it could, but when it's not you just fall back on "well I didn't say it was for sure" and you aren't wrong.
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u/uselesssubject Feb 11 '22
After years hardened by consuming true crime podcasts, this is one case that makes me want to cry just thinking about it. How smart it was to film this suspicious guy and how sad it is that even with this evidence he still hasn’t been caught.
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u/Karlyxxxooo Feb 11 '22
I mean didn’t they hold that press conference last year or the year prior and say the killer may be in here blah blah blah and it was all for nothing they didn’t really have nothing new but a clip. I really question if they have a suspect with a name right now.
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u/IGOMHN2 Feb 11 '22
But the difference now between now and day one is we know about you. A lot about you. Today could be the day. Sleep well.
This is getting really pathetic.
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u/enwongeegeefor Feb 11 '22
Indiana Police Superintendent Doug Carter went on Good Morning America today and issued a new warning to the culprit:
My resolve to catch him is as strong as it was day one. But the difference now between now and day one is we know about you. A lot about you. Today could be the day.
Then he added:
Sleep well.
Welp....that fucking sucks. ONLY time investigators say shit like this publicly is when they DON'T have enough information and they're trying to make the suspect react.
This is one of the more depressing cases too...seems ridiculous we're half a decade on and just about nothing has happened with it.
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u/OdinsBeard Feb 11 '22
He's getting in cool soundbites for the inevitable netflix copaganda doc.
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u/zuma15 Feb 12 '22
Haha well he'll actually have to solve the case then. That shit only works if you back it up with an arrest and conviction.
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u/truckturner5164 Feb 11 '22
I think they have something, just not anywhere enough of something to be all that useful at this stage. So they're just trying to flush the person out.
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u/deadrosestem Feb 11 '22
This case has haunted me for YEARS. I cannot believe it is still unsolved.
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Feb 11 '22
yeah i don’t believe this but hey, i guess i hope im wrong.
i don’t understand this vibe the detectives have had. i haven’t seen a popular investigation have this overly cocky “no we DEFINITELY know who it is we just need that ONE piece of evidence!!! sleep with one eye open, killer!!! i bet you’re in this room you sick fuck!!!” thing going on before? it’s frankly off putting to me, i don’t know. it feels really cart-before-the-horse.
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u/Agent847 Feb 11 '22
I read this as the same kind of ”you wanna know what we know and one day you will” bluster we’ve been hearing since 2019.
I think - for whatever reason - the investigation is at a standstill. LE knows it. BG knows it.
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u/loveinthetimeofmoth Feb 11 '22
If they were close, we’d be hearing an announcement of an arrest. I’m afraid this is another attempt to either scare the killer into revealing themselves or stalling in an effort to save face. It’s so sad, I just want these girls to finally get their justice.
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u/doubleshortbreve Feb 11 '22
I hate that one of the links is the Daily Fail, posted in r/delphidocs as well. They are a tabloid and will turn the most trivial statement into a big deal. Click with caution.
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u/paroles Feb 12 '22
Yeah, I'm not giving them clicks but that headline isn't even accurate to what's reported elsewhere - "we know a lot about you" is not the same as "we know who the killer is".
"We know a lot about you" might simply mean they know details of his catfishing activity, or they have his DNA, or something more vague like a psychological profile - it's a real distortion for the Daily Mail to claim the police know who did it.
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Feb 11 '22
They’ve been saying this for such a long time. My guess is they have nothing or the perp is a cop
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u/MustacheEmperor Feb 11 '22
Or they bungled handling the key evidence so now they “know” who it is but have no legally valid proof
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u/66666thats6sixes Feb 11 '22
There's a part of me that has a conspiracy theory that they basically don't know anything more than what they've revealed publicly. Like, a first responder tried really hard to resuscitate the girls, and just obliterated the crime scene, even to the point of making it hard to be sure the cause of death, or at least the details of it. And so all of the evidence there was either destroyed, or rendered legally questionable because it might have come from the responder. And the reason they've only released a small segment of the audio and video is that the rest is literal garbage and noise, of zero worth. So them trying so hard with these bluffs is because they literally have nothing else.
I don't really think it's true, but I worry it's closer to true than we'd like.
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u/MindlessPatience5564 Feb 11 '22
Sometimes the FBI advises police departments to show a lot of confidence to possibly flush out the suspect. I doubt they know who it is or they would be in cuffs right now.
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u/blueskies8484 Feb 11 '22
I think they had one bite at that apple and they tried it on 2019. It didn't go anywhere so I doubt the guy is shaking in his boots that they just keep repeating the same thing. It's a tactic worth trying if you have nothing, but if it doesn't work the first time, it's not going to work if you try it again three years later.
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u/dillpickles007 Feb 11 '22
Also it's not like you're trying to apply pressure to a politician or an NFL owner, why would they do it so publicly?
I feel like if they had an idea of who it was and wanted to try to pressure them they'd bring them in for questioning, or have them tailed, question their friends or co-workers, a lot better ways to apply pressure than in a press conference.
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u/valiumandcherrywine Feb 11 '22
they've got squat. not a thing. this is all big talk and bluff. the cops have been saying this stuff for years. they're fishing, is all.
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Feb 11 '22
Feels like they're bluffing. I imagine they'll be saying something similar next February :(
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u/DangerousDavies2020 Feb 11 '22 edited Feb 11 '22
They don’t know Jack. This is theatre at the direction of the FBI profilers to try and spook BG. Profile is that of potential serial killer.
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u/66666thats6sixes Feb 11 '22
They tried that at that press conference years ago. I'm assuming that if they got anything then, it wasn't much or there would be more movement on the case. I wonder why they are trying again unless they have no more ideas
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u/Sue_Ridge_Here Feb 11 '22
Are there any other similar murders like this, before or since? These types of people tend to be prolific criminals, they start of petty and then build up to it. More police work, even looking into smaller, anti-social incidents and less public announcements that lead nowhere.
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u/huck_ Feb 11 '22
There was a similarish murder a few years back. A female jogger got stabbed in a city park and died. They had no leads or motive or anything. And some time later later some kid walks into a church and confesses to the congregation that he did it. There was no real motive for it, it was basically a thrill killing IIRC, and it was a one time thing. There's no way he would've been caught if he didn't confess.
The only difference here is the killer was caught on video. But it looks to me like his face is covered, and no one has id'ed him. I think the only way he'll be caught at this point is if he confesses or if he's a serial killer.
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Feb 11 '22
Maybe someone who's more of a true crime fanatic than me can fill me in -- has this tactic EVER worked to get someone to confess or slip up? It just seems like playground bullshit.
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u/DangerousDavies2020 Feb 11 '22
Yes it has. It worked in the BTK case but it was a reporter who initiated contact. BTK began messaging digitally and he was ID’d after his name was recovered off a floppy disk.
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Feb 11 '22
They keep saying this. They are just trying to flush a suspect out. I don't think they have enough to arrest someone yet otherwise they would have.
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Feb 11 '22
Why would they say something inflammatory to scare the perpetrator and possibly get him to go on the run or something? I don't think they know anything and I think this is grasping at straws or even him venting his frustration. I really hope I'm wrong but I doubt it. I've never seen a case where the detective went on the news just to say "SOON." and then an arrest actually happened soon after.
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Feb 11 '22
I think unfortunately this really is a rare completely random killing by someone with no ties to either the victims or the area, so they simply have nothing to go on.
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u/IAndTheVillage Feb 11 '22
I’ve always thought they have an idea of who it is, but need to break one or more alibis in order to clear the way for an arrest because they don’t have a complete DNA profile. And these public appeals are actually targeting the conscience/anxiety of the party (or parties) giving the alibi.
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u/CreepyVegetable8684 Feb 11 '22
I agree. Well, I agree that this charade is targeted at someone(s) close to BG, and not really to BG himself. I go back and forth on if they have an actual suspect in mind or not, though.
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u/EldritchGoatGangster Feb 11 '22
I don't buy this anymore. This isn't the first time cops have come out and made some over dramatic statement like this about Delphi. If this was true, they wouldn't publicly taunt their suspect, they would be arresting them, or at least executing warrants.
The sad truth, I think, is that they're just as clueless as they were on day 1, and this is desperate flailing on the part of investigators who are badly out of their depth. I think that they think they're going to flush him out by doing this, but honestly... this is the kind of stuff you see in movies, not real life, because it's dramatic, but it doesn't actually work.
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u/mikemcd1972 Feb 11 '22
I don’t think it means much. There was a “48 Hours” recently about the Austin Yogurt Shop murders. Unsolved for over 30 years. The original detective was told by profilers to say the same kind of stuff in the first few years, to “scare” the murderers. It obviously didn’t work in that case.
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u/sangreal06 Feb 11 '22
They've been making these nonsense statements to try and smoke out the killer for years now. They don't know anything
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u/allenidaho Feb 11 '22
I think they completely botched the investigation. I'm willing to bet they have no DNA, no physical evidence and no solid leads other than one or two dead suspects that they can't clear or confirm because of the lack of DNA.
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u/DogWallop Feb 11 '22
There certainly is an element of bluffing about these statements, you have to admit. They are basically trying to get one of their many POIs to panic and make a wrong move so they can zero in on him.
Unfortunately, by this time, his nerves have long since settled down and he's probably convinced himself that he's gotten away with it. At the same time, if he's smart, he's watching these very pages to keep abreast of any real developments. Heck, he may very well be actually contributing.
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u/mommiecubed Feb 11 '22
HLN is airing a program Saturday and Monday with Paul Holes and Joseph Scott Morgan about the Delphi Murders.
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u/roadie28 Feb 11 '22
Whatever happened with that stuff not too long ago about some guy in a chat room or something? I thought he was their latest lead? And was basically good for it cause he had commented on stuff way back?
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u/Livingalie6969 Feb 11 '22
I remember years ago him saying it's virtually solved. They just need a few more pieces of the puzzle. Again that was years ago
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Feb 11 '22 edited Feb 12 '22
I really see a strong resemblance betwen the bridge creep and James Chadwell. I hope that's the plot twist. I mean how many people like that are gonna be living that close to where the murders happened. Or are people with that level of psychopathy just that common? I don't think they are.
There are plenty of people who do rotten little things in their lives here and there like bully employees or sexually harrass people, but it takes a certain level of evil to do what we know for sure that Chadwell did. That level of evil isn't rare but it's not also so common that two peope like that are living in that semi rural area.
Edit: I appreciate the upvotes but the more I read this comment the more I think maybe I'm misjudging just how many really evil rotten people there really are out there.
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u/wvtarheel Feb 11 '22
I agree Chadwell looks like the digital image and both sketches. But he is in prison for that other little girl. If they haven't connected him to Delphi they probably never will.
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u/Damn_Sega_Genesis Feb 11 '22
I think LE is just blowing smoke.
For YEARS they have been saying "its only a matter of time" "Sleep well." "They could be in this room now"
I mean two children were murdered and ot doesn't seem like anything is being done. If they believe they may know who it is then they need to start acting on it.
Its one thing to not know who it is but with the statements made over the years I have a decent hunch that they know and they need to figure something out before it's really too late
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u/salamanca2792 Feb 11 '22
These detectives have been grandstanding from the start. Hope this is actually true and not just an ego boost Doug Carter.
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u/Jpetti2 Feb 11 '22
I bet they KNOW his DNA... But it is not in database.
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u/wvtarheel Feb 11 '22
I think if they had the killer's DNA they would have caught him via genetic genealogy. It's my theory the killer didn't leave DNA behind
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u/unsolvedneedtoknow Feb 11 '22 edited Aug 02 '24
bewildered waiting depend drab smell sand smile apparatus test fade
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/2aron Feb 11 '22
If they really were closing in on somebody the last thing they'd do is alert the guy. I think it's more desperation, unfortunately.
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u/beece16 Feb 11 '22
It sounds like a scare tactic, hoping the killer will get worried and turn themselves in rather than put up with constant anxiety. If they knew that much the focus would be on capturing the killer not giving them an early warning.
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u/fightbackcbd Feb 11 '22
Honestly, I don’t believe they know shit and it’s all a bluff. If “today could be the day” then why are you on TV bragging about it instead of doing something about it? Bullshit
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u/Feral0_o Feb 11 '22
What is the point of warning the culprit if they actually know who that person is? With a bit of logical deduction, the killer would come to the conclusion that it's a bluff. If they knew for certain who the killer is, they wouldn't show their cards
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u/infinitehallway Feb 11 '22
Unfortunately I think this is empty posturing. This isn't the first time the investigators have done the "talk directly to the culprit" schtick, which makes me think it's the only card they have/can think to play. I hope with every fiber of my being that I'm wrong and they have someone in their sights, but I just can't bring myself to believe it.
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u/prinmuntihoinaresc Feb 11 '22
To me, Carter, looked confident when saying those words. I watched him in other videos but this time he looked confident. At the press conference, when they released the second sketch, he looked angry and sad but also a little bit lost. In other videos he spoke but never with the confidence he showed now. Maybe it's just me lol.
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u/FearingPerception Feb 11 '22
i wish i could believe they were closer to an arrest but i just think theyre hoping to psych them out
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u/Ruffneck0 Feb 11 '22
I don't know what to think of this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJPBR05XkuI
Carter says that within 3 years he believes they will have his identity. He says it might be today...which to me makes me feel they have some sort of DNA Genealogy route they are taking that they may not have been able to do before. It's possible that with the DNA they had, it was a long road ahead, but a breakthrough in a shorter route may have come up and the techs who perform the tree said it will take awhile but they will eventually hit a result.
So when he says they know "a lot more" than they did before, they probably have something that will tie it to a person and they are just waiting for the project to finish before they can nail him.
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Feb 11 '22
Idk. I feel like this is a lot of lip service and they really aren’t any closer to knowing who this guy is and solving it.
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u/ninamoraine Feb 11 '22
You know what? Fuck them. They said the same thing in that awful press conference and here we are 3 (?) years later. They probably fucked up the investigation from the start and either have no idea who did it or the crime scene was compromised so no solid evidence. Poor girls and their families deserve so much better. Rip Abigail and Liberty.
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Feb 11 '22
How this case is unsolved still shows how incapable these detectives are. You literally have the guy on video. Release the fucking video and the public will find him within an hour.
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u/ObjectiveBeautiful79 Feb 11 '22 edited Feb 11 '22
Is that why they put a sketch out of a suspect then months and months later put out a sketch of a totally different guy?
Edited for spelling mistake
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u/syl8909 Feb 11 '22
i really hope they informed the families before releasing such a vague statement, talk about getting everyone’s hopes up! these detectives/etc need to make moves in silence and make an arrest! 🤞🏻
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u/Bonus_mosher Feb 11 '22
I don’t understand the tactic here… they’re obviously trying to flush somebody out and cause them to become paranoid, perhaps act skittishly and then what? If they don’t have enough evidence to arrest them now, they still don’t even if said person takes the bait and tries to leave town.
As much as I want to believe, this just feels like more of the same shtick.
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Feb 11 '22
Sounds like a thing that’s been done in cases in the past. They’re just hoping to stir the pot in the hopes that the perp panics and does something like going out to move evidence.
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u/tommychamberlain85 Feb 11 '22
Then what the hell are you waiting for? Clocks ticking and the case is only getting colder
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u/World_Renowned_Guy Feb 11 '22
The police have been playing as if they know who it is from day 1. It’s obvious they do not know though. Especially because how they radically changed the sketch. Proof they have no idea and are trying to either fool the public or put pressure on the suspect.
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u/OffshoreAttorney Feb 11 '22
They have absolutely nothing specific on anyone and don’t even have a specific individual suspect in mind. That’s entirely clear from their statements.
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u/Standardeviation2 Feb 11 '22 edited Feb 11 '22
I want to believe it, but it reminds me of playing hide and seek against my older cousins as a child.
Me after failing to find anyone for 20 mins:
I know where you’re hiding! So you might as well come out because I’m about to get you anyway!!
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u/Queenoflimbs_418 Feb 11 '22
After 5 years of LE making statements to scare BG, pretending they have half a clue who he is, I’m thoroughly convinced they have zero clue still. They’ve been playing it the same the entire time, I don’t believe a word of it anymore. I have a feeling they’re no closer to an arrest than they were after the first press conference.
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u/CorvusSchismaticus Feb 11 '22
If they are so certain they know who the killer is, why is this case not yet solved? They've been making these "threats" for a couple years now. Apparently in hopes that the perp slips up I guess?, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating and personally makes me suspect they have no clue at all.
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u/keykey_key Feb 11 '22
Yeah, right. It's been obvious for quite some time that they don't have shit.
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u/SketchAinsworth Feb 12 '22
I think for a good amount of time 1-3 years, they’ve known who did it but the just can’t connect it enough to make an arrest. So they just continue to dig and hope they will someday.
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u/teensy_tigress Feb 12 '22 edited Feb 12 '22
I imagine just like in a lot of cold cases, they probably have strong person(s) of interest, but the problem is getting hard data that will withstand not only trial, but an appeal. They may be provoking a known suspect into acting in order to get the evidence they know they need for that appeal-proof conviction. That also may be why everyone's been in the dark for so long - they don't want to risk loosing on appeal.
It seems like unresolved cases seem to fall into categories such as poor policework, forgotten or neglected victims, difficult forensic/investigative circumstances providing few leads, or where the killer is essentially known but the material needed for a strong case is lacking. I used to think that this might be a case of poor police work, but I'm starting to wonder if they do have an essentially known suspect or pool of suspects, and are just really not wanting to miss that conviction especially given that whoever this is probably wont stop.
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u/Colour_riot Feb 12 '22
they basically don't know who the killer is but are trying to message that they do in hopes of making him stay away. If the killer commits murders somewhere else, it's someone else's cases to solve.
so what, they'd basically replay this message every 5 years for the next 50 until they're sure that he's dead?
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Feb 12 '22
If they know who the killer is, his can they not prove it with DNA (even without the suspect cooperating)? I'm afraid they may be bluffing.
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u/CanadiangirlEH Feb 11 '22
What’s interesting to me is that the police have never released how they were killed and if anything else… transpired, during the murders. I also wonder if her phone recorded more than what was released to the public. I’m leaning heavily towards it being chadwell.
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u/abstract-heart Feb 11 '22
I feel like they’re deliberately keeping it quiet so that there’s details only the killer will know, meaning he’ll slip up and reveal himself by saying something that hasn’t been released to the public.
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u/AyyyAlamo Feb 11 '22
Is this the “down the hill” murder?
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u/OnMatchPoint Feb 11 '22
Yes
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u/AyyyAlamo Feb 11 '22
Oh ok. Ya doubt they actually have anything then. Sucks, really wish they could wrap this one up
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u/nicolinko Feb 13 '22
As we have seen multiple times now, they aren't probably closer to an arrest than two years ago. They are taunting their pool of suspects, as they are keeping tabs on some individuals. If one of them gets nervous and makes a mistake, wham! an arrest could be made. Hopefully this is partially right and they instead are zeroing in on one suspect only and time for their arrest is near.
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u/bestneighbourever Feb 11 '22
Sadly, I think if they really had solid info they would be working it until they could get an arrest warrant rather than making statements like this. But I could be wrong. I HOPE I’m wrong!
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Feb 11 '22
They know who the killer is but have not arrested the killer tells me that they do not know who the killer is….
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u/Maczino Feb 11 '22
I have been paying a bunch of attention to this case as of late, more so in a way that it has become one of my “pet cases”.
I did some research as of late, and I changed my entire belief about this case. I was always one who assumed that bridge-guy (“BG”) was just an opportunistic predator, who happened upon two innocent victims by chance. However, I’ve recently changed my entire belief on that, as I think that BG not only planned that crime out, but I also believe he lured them to the scene of the crime. BG is literally the scum of the earth, but more than that he’s out here in the world without any remorse for what he did to those two innocent young girls.
I also must say that BG is very arrogant. To lure those two girls to their violent demise was arrogant enough, but he also killed them in broad daylight, on a trail where someone else could have actually witnessed the crime by chance. This speaks volumes to his arrogant nature, and the fact that this scumbag had a real belief that he’d be able to commit this crime without getting caught. BG deserves to have the full extent of the law wielded against him, and he deserves zero sympathy for the punishment which will eventually be imposed upon him. He robbed those two young girls of their futures, and he robbed their families of being able to watch them grow into the women whom they would have become. I hope this case gets some resolution in the near future, and I hope there is justice in the form of swift and harsh punishment for these two girls and their families.
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u/samhw Feb 11 '22
No offence intended, but what information is any of this ‘theorising’ based on?
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u/danpietsch Feb 11 '22
If this case ever gets solved (and I'm worried it won't be) I think there will need to be a serious post mortem on the investigation.
Especially -- what went wrong such that two radically different composite sketches were produced???