Scene of the Crime: Delphi - New Direction
The podcast first talks a bit about connections to the murders of Lyric Cook (10) and Elizabeth Collins (8) on July 13th of 2012 in Evansdale, IA. The girls were last seen riding their bikes near Myers Lake between 12:30 and 1:00 pm. Around 4pm, a firefighter discovered their bicycles and Elizabeth's purse near the lake.
December 5, 2012
The bodies of Lyric and Elizabeth were discovered by hunters in a wildlife park 20 miles away. The park is mostly used by hunters, ATV riders, and residents dumping old furniture and appliances. The bodies were found 20 yards apart and were partly obscured by brush. The bodies were badly decomposed, but the ME was able to determine the COD. That information has never been made public, and the presence of DNA (or lack thereof) in the case is unknown.
Three witnesses told LE they'd seen an older white SUV that was large and boxy (possibly a Chevy Suburban or Ford Bronco) parked on a road that meets up with the trail where the girl's bikes were located between 11:30 and 12:30 pm on July 13, 2012.
August 21, 2014
An FBI profile was released that said the following about the suspect:
- he/she is familiar with Myers Lake and the Seven Bridges wildlife area
- he/she is unlikely to be a transient
- he/she likely used quiet coercion or a ruse to abduct the girls rather than threats of violence
- he/she has likely altered their appearance since the abductions
- he/she likely cleaned, painted, or modified their vehicle after the abductions
Delphi & Evansdale Similarities
- unsolved
- dual abduction
- abduction occured midday
- abducted in a small town in the Midwest
- occurred on a weekday near the weekend (Delphi: Monday; Evansdale: Friday)
- last ween on the 13th day of the month
- bodies found in remote and wooded areas
- last seen on a walking trail
- pork processing plants are nearby
The primary difference between the Delphi & Evansdale cases is the disposal of the bodies. The girls were left where they were killed in Delphi; the girls were transported 30 miles away and hidden behind brush in the Evansdale case.
Dr. Katherine M. Brown (regarding dual abductions):
"I've only seen a couple in my entire career because child abduction murders, in and of themselves, are incredibly rare -- which is fortunate -- but the abduction of two children at one time is even, even rarer. If you're examining the rarity from an offender perspective, it really does increase their risk to abduct two children at one time."
Drew Collins (investigator in the Evansdale, IA case):
"They both happened on the 13th, they're both in like secluded areas on trails. I don't know, it just seemed too familiar. And, uh, so I actually reached out to Mike, and um, talked to them a little bit when it first happened. And, uh, but just nothing ever came of it."
LE in Delphi believe the similarities are coincidental and believe the two cases are unrelated.
February 13, 2019
A joint press conference is held at the Carroll County Courthouse with the ISP, Carroll County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, and Delphi PD.
Sgt. Kim Riley introduced Carroll County prosecutor Nick McClellan.
McClellan announced that 38,000 tips had been received and said a dozen or more were received on any given day. He asked the public to refrain from posting side-by-side images of people they speculate are involved, and encouraged others to report their tips. He said "they could have the missing piece of the puzzle". He reminded the public about the $240,000 reward and spoke about the type of information LE considers ideal.
Doug Carter addresses the killer directly:
"If you're watching, we're coming. If you're watching, we are coming."
Six days later, LE announced a press conference would be held on Monday, February 22nd at the Wabash Erie Canal Conference and Interpretive Center in Delphi at noon. The PC would be open to the public with limited seating.
February 22, 2019 Press Conference
Superintendent Doug Carter: "Information being released today is the result of literally thousands and thousands of hours of extraordinary investigative efforts by Delphi, Carroll County, the Indiana State Police, and countless other agencies.
After you hear what we're going to release today, I'm going to ask for your continued support, your continued understanding, your continued empathy and compassion, um, as we move forward to find out who did this. And, we will.
We're seeking the public's help to identify the driver of a vehicle that was parked at the old CPS/DCS welfare building in the city of Delphi, that was abandoned on the east side of Delphi County Road 300, northwest to the Hoosier Heartland Highway, between the hours of noon to five on February 14, 2017. If you were parked there or know who was parked there, please contact the officers at the command post at the Delphi City Building."
The physical address of the old CPS/DCS building is 6931 West 300 North. The podcast clarifies that LE has reason to believe a car was parked there on the 13th -- not the 14th as Carter misstated. The podcast points out that this information is likely due to new information because LE had previously said (on February 2018) that they had no reason to believe the suspect was parked in a vehicle nearby because they had no information on a vehicle.
May 7, 2019
Sgt. Kim Riley clarified that LE had determined the suspect likely had a vehicle after reviewing many tips. It was also clarified that the vehicle was not parked in the empty lot at the building but parked along the roadside (which may be why it attracted the attention of a witness, if it did so).
Doug Carter (con't from the February 22nd press conference):
"We're releasing additional portions of the audio recording from that day. Please keep in mind, the person talking is one person and is the person on the bridge with the girls. This is not two different people speaking. Please listen to it very, very carefully."
[Audio: "Guys... down the hill."]
"We're also releasing video recovered from Libby's phone. This video has never before been previously released. The video shows the suspect walking on the bridge. When you see the video, watch the person's mannerisms as they walk. Watch the mannerisms as he walks. Do you recognize the mannerisms as being someone you might know? Remember, he is walking on the former railroad bridge. Because of the deteriorated condition of the bridge, the suspect is not walking naturally due to the spacing between the ties."
During the course of this investigation, we have concluded the first sketch released will become secondary. As of today, the result of new information and intelligence over time leads us to believe that the sketch -- which you will see shortly -- is the person responsible for the murders of these two little girls. We also believe this person is from Delphi, currently or has previously lived here, visits Delphi on a regular basis, or works here. We believe this person is currently between the age range of 18-40 but might appear younger than his true age."
The newly released sketch depicts:
a younger man with a pointed chin, small eyes, thin lips, and bushy or even moderately curly, short hair
LE later clarified that the new sketch -- who is the man on the bridge -- is not the same person as the initial sketch. The person in the first sketch might not even exist as depicted. It might be a fabrication based on several combined and fading memories.
The new sketch is the result of a drawing session with a witness on February 17, 2017 and was drawn by ISP Master Trooper, Taylor Bryant. He uses a facial identification reference sheet that has a list of different categories from head shapes to different eyebrows and noses. The witness attempts to describe the suspect based on the categories.
April 24, 2019
Multi-agency Task Force Clarifies Points about Delphi Murder Suspect Sketches
"Authorities originally believed the initial sketch depicting an older man was the person of interest in the case. Only after the investigation matured and past information has been reassessed did the task force come to believe that the person in the new sketch is the killer."
The two sketches are not the same person; the new sketch is of someone completely different than the one in the initial sketch. The man in the old sketch is not currently a POI in the Delphi murders, and in effect, should be ignored.
The statement advised that the suspect may have changed his appearance and now look difference. LE confirmed that a number of sketches were in the case file that were created in the days after the murders.
Doug Carter (speaking with Kelsi for the podcast):
"Remember, a sketch is just a visual. It's not a photo. It's a visual of what somebody might've seen, so that's all I'll say about the sketch."
In response to Kelsi asking why the two sketches look so different:
"I can't talk a lot about that in detail, but I'll simply say the investigation has evolved and there are things we know that we can't explain. I know there was a lot of anxiety about that, and even some confusion and some blame and some criticism of us. Um, that criticism needs to come to me. Not to anybody else because I--I--I absolutely supported that change."
July 2019
The FBI altered the suspect's description on their website to 180-200 pounds
(20 pounds lighter than the original description)
Doug Carter (con't from the February 22nd press conference):
"Directly to the killer -- who may be in this room -- we believe you're hiding in plain sight. For more than two years, you never thought we would shift gears to a different investigative strategy but we have. We likely have interviewed you, or someone close to you, and we know that this is about power to you. And, you want to know what we know. And, one day you will."
"A question to you--what will those closest to you think of when they find out what you brutally murdered two little girls, two children? Only a coward would do such a thing. We are confident that you've told someone what you've done, or at the very least, they know because of how different you are since the murders."
"We try so hard to understand how a person can do something like this to two children. And, I recently watched a movie called The Shack -- and there's also a book that talks so well about evil, about death, and about eternity. To the murderer, I believe you have just a little bit of a conscience left, and I can assure you that how you left them in that woods is not--is not what they're experiencing today."
The podcast talks about how the press conference seemed designed to attract the killer, as it was announced three days in advance and was open to the public. However, child abduction expert Dr. Katherine M. Brown says that this tactic is not likely to succeed.
Doug Carter (con't from the February 22nd press conference):
"I can tell you on behalf of the sheriff, and the police chief, and so many other partners that have stood with us over this period of time, that we will not stop."
April 22, 2019
PRESS RELEASE: "New Face of the Delphi Murder Suspect"
The release announced the new sketch and described it as more accurately depicting the face of the suspect from the video on Libby's phone.
The official release contradicted Carter in two minor ways--
1. The release describes the suspect as someone in their mid-20s to mid-30s; Carter described him between the ages of 18 and 40 but may appear younger
2. The release said they "We have a witness. You made mistakes. We are coming for you, and there's no place for a heartless coward like you to hid that gets his thrill from killing little girls." ; Carter never mentioned the mistakes or the witness
The caption displayed by the new sketch on the official press release:
"This is the face of the suspect that goes with the body on the video on Liberty German's phone minutes before she and Abigail Williams were murdered."
Carter (while speaking with Kelsi about the sketches):
"For people who look at that sketch, they think 'Oh my God, that person is twenty years younger than the initial one' and they view it as a photograph. That's not what a sketch is. So, while we believe that people are literally trying to help, this type of side-by-side comparison does not help."
The release of the new sketch generated 1,000 new tips within 24 hours and 2,000 within the first week.
A few weeks after the PC, Carter said he didn't know if the suspect was at the PC but 100% believes he was watching. He said information gathered over the previous 26 months indicates the suspect is watching LE's every move. He said the murderer got compliant because he didn't know LE would release the second sketch and felt comfortable that they had overlooked it. He said LE has likely spoken with the suspect already and said LE were onto something very early on.
