On February 14, 2017, the bodies of Abigail Williams (June 23, 2003 – February 13, 2017) and Liberty German (December 27, 2002 – February 13, 2017) were discovered near the Monon High Bridge Trail, which is part of the Delphi Historic Trails in Delphi, Indiana, United States, after the young girls had disappeared from the same trail the previous day. The murders have received significant media coverage because a video and audio recording of an individual believed to be the girls’ killer were found on German’s smartphone.
On October 26, 2022, a suspect was in custody, and was subsequently charged with two counts of murder on October 31.
At 1:35 p.m. on Monday, February 13, 2017, 13-year-old Abigail Joyce “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty Rose Lynn “Libby” German were dropped off by German’s older sister, Kelsi German, on County Road 300 North, east of the Hoosier Heartland Highway. The girls were hiking on the Monon High Bridge over Deer Creek, among woodland in remote Deer Creek Township. At 2:07 p.m., Libby posted a photo of Abby walking the bridge; after this, they were not heard from again. They were reported missing at 5:30 p.m. after they failed to meet Liberty’s father at 3:15 p.m. The families initially searched for the girls themselves before calling the police. Authorities who quickly searched the area did not initially suspect foul play in the disappearance. However, this changed when the bodies of the girls were found around noon the next day, about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) east of the abandoned Monon High Bridge. The bodies were found on the north bank of Deer Creek.
On February 22, law enforcement released an audio recording where the voice of the suspect, although muffled, is heard to say, “Down the hill.” At this news conference, officials credited the source of the audio and imagery to German’s smartphone and further regarded her as a hero for having had the presence of mind and fortitude to secretly record the exchange. Police indicated that additional evidence from the phone had been secured but would not release further details so as to not “compromise any future trial”. By this time, the reward offered in the case was set at $41,000.
On October 26, 2022, a suspect was taken into custody and appeared in court October 28. On October 31, 2022, Indiana State Police announced that the suspect had been charged with two counts of murder in the case. His trial is scheduled to begin in March 2023. This case is still unsolved as of now, i will be sure to update with any new information i can gather.
