Video released of suspect in 2017 killings of Indiana girls
INDIANAPOLIS - Authorities released video Monday of a man suspected of killing two Indiana teenagers two years ago and urged the public to scrutinize the footage, which shows the man walking on an abandoned railroad bridge the girls visited while out hiking the day they were slain.
The Indiana State Police also released a new sketch of the suspect, which State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said was produced thanks to "new information and intelligence" collected during the investigation into the killings of 14-year-old Liberty German and 13-year-old Abigail Williams. During a briefing in the girls' hometown of Delphi, he said that a composite sketch that was previously released based on accounts from eyewitnesses who believe they saw the man is now secondary to the new sketch.
Carter said investigators believe the man is between the ages of 18 and 40, and that he either lives or lived in Delphi or regularly visits or works in the area. He vowed that police will solve the case and, during the briefing, he addressed the suspect directly.
"We believe you are hiding in plain sight. For more than two years, you never thought we would shift gears to a different investigative strategy, but we have," he said.
The video of the suspect and additional audio that was also released Monday came from German's cellphone. Authorities have hailed her as a hero for recording potentially crucial evidence before she was killed.
Carter urged the public to pay close attention to the mannerisms of the man in the video, which shows him walking across an abandoned railroad bridge near Delphi, which is about 60 miles (95 kilometers) northwest of Indianapolis.
"Do you recognize the mannerisms as being someone you might know? And remember, he is walking on the former railroad bridge, and because of the deteriorated condition of the bridge the suspect is not walking naturally, due to the spacing between the ties," he said.
The girls' bodies were found in a rugged, wooded area the day after they went hiking during a day off of school.
Within days of the killings, investigators released two grainy photos of a suspect walking on the bridge and an audio recording of a man believed to be him saying "down the hill."
The audio clip released Monday includes that same audio but is longer and captures the suspect saying, "Guys, down the hill," said Sgt. Kim Riley with the State Police.
Investigators have reviewed thousands of leads looking for the man, but no arrest warrants have been issued and no arrests have been made.