LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Court documents newly obtained by WDRB link a man in jail with social media accounts police are investigating in connection with the murders of two young girls in Delphi, Indiana, in 2017.
On Monday night, Indiana State Police released information about an internet profile labeled "anthony_shots" that had previously been used to talk to teenagers on Snapchat and Instagram.
Police say the account user posted profile images of a male model and marketed himself as a wealthy man with sports cars in an effort to talk to young girls, solicit nude images and attempt to arrange meetings with them.Â
Police say the male model used in the images was not connected to the crimes -- and that the accountholder used the images of him to create a false persona and hide his own identity.
Libby German and Abby Williams (WDRB file)
Indiana State Police said Monday that they wanted to obtain more information about the real individual behind the "anthony_shots" accounts, as part of the investigation into the deaths 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German. Police investigating the 2017 murders said they wanted to speak to anyone who may have interacted with him online.
Williams and German disappeared on Feb. 13, 2017 after they were dropped off near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi. The next day, police found the girls' bodies near the Delphi Historic Trail, about 60 miles north of Indianapolis.
On Tuesday, WDRB News obtained court documents that link 27-year-old Kegan Anthony Kline of Peru, Indiana, to social media accounts used to solicit underage girls on both Snapchat and Instagram, in an unrelated case, also in 2017.
Those accounts used the name "anthony_shots."
ISP said the account "anthony_shots" used pictures of a male model and marketed himself as a wealthy man with sports cars in order to talk to girls, solicit nude images and attempt to meet them.
On Feb. 25, 2017, officers with Indiana State Police, the Peru Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant on Kline's home as part of that investigation, unrelated to the Delphi murders.
It was, however, days after the murders took place.
During that search, Kline was questioned about his online activities. According to the probable cause affidavit, Kline initially denied creating fake social media accounts and talking to underage girls, but later admitted to doing so -- specifically to creating the "anthony_shots" account about six months earlier.
"Kegan stated he talks to girls he knows personally and girls he doesn't know personally," the affidavit states. "Kegan stated he meets girls on Instagram. He said he knows the age of the girls he communicates with because he talks to them. Kegan stated if a girl told him she was 16 or under, he wouldn't care and would still talk to them."
According to the court documents, he said he would initiate the conversations on Instagram, then move them to Snapchat.Â
Abby Williams and Libby German
Police say he admitted to speaking to about 15 underage girls and getting images from "every one of them." According to the affidavit, he told investigators that the girls' ages ranged from 15 to 17, and he probably received 100 sexual images from the girls.
As a result of the investigation, Kline was charged with one count of Child Solicitation, one count of Child Exploitation, two counts of Child Exploitation - Possession of Child Pornography, one count of Synthetic Identity Deception and one count of Obstruction of Justice.
He remains in custody on those charges.
It is important to note that Kline is not in any way charged in connection with the murders of Williams or German at this time. It is not clear if investigators in the murder case have spoken with Kline.
Monday night's request for information was the latest development in a case that has haunted the Delphi community for years. No one has yet been arrested or charged in the murders, despite police releasing a photograph, a sketch and a brief audio clip of the suspect speaking the words "down the hill."
Second sketch of the Delphi murder suspect, released in April 2019.
Anyone with any additional information on the disappearance and murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German is asked to contact a special task force by email: Abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com or phone. The telephone tip line is 844-459-5786. Tips are also accepted by the ISP at 800-382-7537, or by the Carroll County Sheriff's Department at 765-564-2413.
They investigate all tips and leads.
This story will be updated, as new information is released.
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- 'We will not stop': ISP releases new suspect sketch, video in Delphi murder investigation
- 'Person of interest' in Delphi murder case brought back to Indiana
- Relatives of Delphi teen murdered while hiking have faith case will be solved
- Police say they have new audio from man who's believed to have killed 2 girls in Delphi, Indiana
- Mother of teen killed on hiking trail in Delphi, Indiana speaks out
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