Found Deceased IN - Abigail (Abby) Williams, 13, & Liberty (Libby) German, 14, The Delphi Murders 13 Feb 2017 #100

[rosesfromangels]

I know hindsight is 20/20 but I have to wonder why a helicopter with FLIR tech wasn't called in to help with the search.

Even if they had to call it in from Indianapolis, it only would have taken 10 minutes to get there.

Prolly because they thought the girls would be easily found, or were runaways on an adventure. Who would ever think of this horrific crime in such a Mom-and-Apple-pie little town?

Amateur opinion and speculation.

 

[margarita25]

Good Morning.

So here are my current thoughts for today.

For 27 months I’ve had this specific vision in my mind of an organized, intelligent offender.

After absorbing some thoughts here from @MassGuy and others, I’ve decided it’s entirely possible he’s just dumb and lucky so far.

(ETA: Making progress, but still not quite ready to concede he is under 40 :wink: )

 

[kc1023]

I imagine this has already been discussed, but there’s a feature on the Snapchat app where you can see all of your Snapchat friends’ current locations on a map. Each person shows up as a little cartoon icon that they pick for themselves. My daughter showed it to me once, and she had everyone in her grade as a “friend” even if though she’s not really friends with all of them, so about 60 kids. Most of them were clustered in our neighborhood, but I could quickly pick out who was traveling, who was outside of our town, etc. So.... speculating, maybe BG simply had access to a one of Libby’s classmates phone, and just glancing at it was able to see that there was a young girl at the trailhead, which is on the edge of town. Since Abby didn’t have a phone, he may have assumed that Libby was alone. MOO.

The "Snap Map" feature was added a few months after the girls deaths. This article is from 6/23/2017 and says "earlier this week". I do, however, think it's entirely possible BG may have been able to see their snaps and determine their plans/location that way. JMO

Snapchat’s newest feature is also its biggest privacy threat

Earlier this week, Snapchat introduced Snap Map, an opt-in function that allows you to share your location with your friends on a map. Snapchat’s introduction video to Snap Map, seen above, focuses on sharing the location of posted Snaps to Our Story, which is public, and could be useful for, say, seeing a collection of Snaps from a particular event.

ETA: I see this was already answered. I too am having the first sips of coffee and hadn't caught up yet.

 

[kc1023]

There is a recent "trail murder" case in Zionsville (close to Delphi) that has been posted about here a few times in the off chance it was related. At this time I don't think it is, however, I do think it is interesting to us... LE has made an arrest and it's being reported that the suspect had confessed to his mother (who seemingly did not report him). The article implies that the family knew but did not contact LE themselves.

This is not encouraging news that BG's family may turn him in IMO

Court documents: Man arrested for Zionsville murder 'admitted to it'

The mother of the man accused of murder on a Zionsville trail says "he did it and he admitted to it."

Police arrested 23-year-old James Earl Hughes Wednesday in Indianapolis for the murder of Samuel Bennett. He's now in the Boone County Jail on a murder charge.

According to court documents, Hughes' mother and father both told police they knew why officers had come when they spoke to them.

Hughes' father told officers that Hughes' mother told him Hughes confessed to her.

 

[margarita25]

There is a recent "trail murder" case in Zionsville (close to Delphi) that has been posted about here a few times in the off chance it was related. At this time I don't think it is, however, I do think it is interesting to us... LE has made an arrest and it's being reported that the suspect had confessed to his mother (who seemingly did not report him). The article implies that the family knew but did not contact LE themselves.

This is not encouraging news that BG's family may turn him in IMO

Court documents: Man arrested for Zionsville murder 'admitted to it'

The mother of the man accused of murder on a Zionsville trail says "he did it and he admitted to it."

Police arrested 23-year-old James Earl Hughes Wednesday in Indianapolis for the murder of Samuel Bennett. He's now in the Boone County Jail on a murder charge.

According to court documents, Hughes' mother and father both told police they knew why officers had come when they spoke to them.

Hughes' father told officers that Hughes' mother told him Hughes confessed to her.

Off the top of my head I can think of two families that have been everything but cooperative for the victims. This is not uncommon imo, I’m afraid. That’s why I especially appreciate ARS’ mother who turned her own son in.

1-Seminole Shooter:

“His parents, Howell Donaldson Jr. and Rosita Donaldson, attended the hearing. They are currently on house arrest for refusing to speak with prosecutors about their son.”
Accused Seminole Heights killer stayed with friend, parents while murders happened

2-Kelsie Schelling:

“The bust took place on the same day his mom, Sara Lucas, was taken into custody in regard to the aforementioned robbery, suggesting that authorities are trying to ratchet up the pressure on mother and son to reveal the whereabouts of Schelling's body, which has not been found as of this writing.”
What We Know About Donthe Lucas Arrest in Missing Kelsie Schelling Case

(Donthe’s family makes me IRATE. Kelsie was pregnant for goodness sakes, not that if she wasn’t pregnant it would be acceptable. Kelsie’s mother to this day digs through weeds and ditches with her bare hands for her daughter’s and unborn baby’s remains, ...no mother should ever have to do this.)

 

[MistyWaters]

Not to criticize the investigation but the quote below was from Feb 20, 2017. This may explain how sketch one came about. For whatever reason almost from the beginning LE had their sights set on somebody quite different than the sketch two witness, someone with local knowledge who parked his car parked near the trail. At the time this might’ve taken the focus away from the killer having a direct connection to Delphi. Hopefully there are local people who had suspicions who might’ve not came forward early on, but now feel compelled.

“We are asking people that were driving through the Hoosier heartland that might have seen a hitchhiker or saw somebody walking. We are asking people in Logansport all the way to Lafayette if they saw somebody around that late afternoon on February 13 walking down the roadway. We would like to know about that person,” said Indiana State Police Sgt. Kim Riley....”
All-out manhunt underway for main suspect in murders of two Delphi teens

 

[MistyWaters]

Off the top of my head I can think of two families that have been everything but cooperative for the victims. This is not uncommon imo, I’m afraid. That’s why I especially appreciate ARS’ mother who turned her own son in.

1-Seminole Shooter
Quote


2-Kelsie Schelling
Quote

When somebody confesses to a family member I think most often they’re expecting that person to help them hold the door open to the police station (figuratively).

 

[margarita25]

When somebody confesses to a family member I think most often they’re expecting that person to help them hold the door open to the police station (figuratively).

In some cases, yes. With ARS (Jessica Ridgeway), possible indeed. With the Seminole Shooter and Kelsie Schelling, not the case imo.

This does again bring to the table that someone might indeed protect this individual!

Again, I’m not sure anyone else even knows though, moo.

 

[TL4S]

Good Morning.

So here are my current thoughts for today.

For 27 months I’ve had this specific vision in my mind of an organized, intelligent offender.

After absorbing some thoughts here from @MassGuy and others, I’ve decided it’s entirely possible he’s just dumb and lucky so far.

(ETA: Making progress, but still not quite ready to concede he is under 40 :wink: )

I force myself to openly consider every theory at least for a minute. I try to see what known information could lead to that perspective, so even if I can't buy into the theory itself, I can maybe see a piece of evidence from a new angle.

In this case, no matter how I look at BG, I can't see anything but "average." If he was calculating, organized, and intelligent, I don't think there'd be a sketch, a vehicle, or two bodies found in less than 24 hours after the crime. JMO

Being "average" adds to his luck, unfortunately. He wasn't extraordinarily noticeable on the trail that day, nothing stands out about his clothing or face, and maybe he can "hide in plain sight" because he's just like everybody else?

 

[Cutiekitty]

I’m sure you guys have heard this podcast, but I haven’t and I found it interesting. Can’t figure out how to directly link it, but this is the main link.
Mixes — Infamous Indy

 

[rosesfromangels]

I force myself to openly consider every theory at least for a minute. I try to see what known information could lead to that perspective, so even if I can't buy into the theory itself, I can maybe see a piece of evidence from a new angle.

In this case, no matter how I look at BG, I can't see anything but "average." If he was calculating, organized, and intelligent, I don't think there'd be a sketch, a vehicle, or two bodies found in less than 24 hours after the crime. JMO

Being "average" adds to his luck, unfortunately. He wasn't extraordinarily noticeable on the trail that day, nothing stands out about his clothing or face, and maybe he can "hide in plain sight" because he's just like everybody else?

Huh?
There’s nothing average about that long chin.

 

[PaulaDC]

What about St Johns? Not thinking it's related to murder of little girl in Orange Park?

No, just the north river flow.

 

[Deleted member 230385]

Prolly because they thought the girls would be easily found, or were runaways on an adventure. Who would ever think of this horrific crime in such a Mom-and-Apple-pie little town?

Amateur opinion and speculation.

The town obviously has its share of ongoing crime, though, especially drug related.

There were searchers that continued long into the night after the police search was called off. Someone was in full panic mode by then, and rightfully so. MOO.

 

[MistyWaters]

Huh?
There’s nothing average about that long chin.

The first time I looked at the sketch, it seemed as if the artist placed the mouth a little too close under the nose which makes his chin look longer however the creator did say it was only a ballpark likeness. The sketch looks like a fairly average clean cut guy probably in his mid 20s IMO.

 

[rosesfromangels]

The first time I looked at the sketch, it seemed as if the artist placed the mouth a little too close under the nose which makes his chin look longer however the creator said it was only a ballpark likeness. The sketch looks like a fairly average clean cut guy probably in his mid 20s IMO.

Could certainly be. I hope that what I *think* is being depicted is accurate. I see an abnormally long chin and a cupid’s Bow mouth.
Agree, he looks clean cut, and not at all what we would expect as a monster. Of course, we have other examples of that as well in Bundy, etc.

 

[rosesfromangels]

The town obviously has its share of ongoing crime, though, especially drug related.

There were searchers that continued long into the night after the police search was called off. Someone was in full panic mode by then, and rightfully so. MOO.

Sadly, you are right. Drug abuse, especially opioids and of course alcohol, are a national crisis, and have found their way in to Americana. It’s a plague in the US and elsewhere.

 

[krkrjx]

But bridge is reportedly is 853 ft long, almost 3 football fields, so crossing it right to the end placed the victims quite a long distance away from others on the trail, obviously giving the killer an advantage.

And I believe the killer knew the area well and knew that it was likely someone would be in that particular area on a reasonably nice day which apparently that February day was. I do not think he planned on taking two victims but that's the opportunity that presented and he was confident they were isolated enough to pose less risk to him than, say, a single victim in a different setting.

 

[Bluedaisy100]

Maybe I'm a little off track, but I'm interested in the couple that FSG saw under the bridge. Have they ever been identified or described? Did anyone else see them? Maybe the motive for the murder is something we haven't contemplated before that involved more than one person. Just kicking around some stones to look at the case a bit differently. Would appreciate if anyone remembers a fuller discussion about them.

 

[Bluedaisy100]

What prompted this is the most recent episode of the First 48. A random guy was picked up for an assault or shooting. His gun was found among his belongings and he said apropos of nothing at the time that "the gun had a body on it". The arresting cop questioned him about this later on, not the detectives though they knew about it. It turned out that the guy was responsible for a series of murders with that gun over a number of years. The random murders (which was what they were) were unsolved and no one put together that the same gun was used. He was a serial killer who killed for no apparent motive. Without a motive or connection to the victims it is very very difficult to solve a case. Many of the cold cases now being solved with DNA have this same quality about them. Mostly men who had no or little connection to their victims and ended up dying from natural causes and taking their secret life to the grave. Could this be some sort of initiation?

 

[castilloisno1]

Do the police even know who FSG is? I am not saying he is a suspect.