MIAMI COUNTY, Indiana — A man connected to social media accounts with same profile name as those now linked to the Delphi killings investigation is charged in a separate child exploitation case.
13News has learned Kegan Anthony Kline was charged Aug. 29, 2020, with 30 counts, including child exploitation, possession of child pornography and obstruction of justice.
The charges stem from a search of his Peru, Indiana, home on Feb. 25, 2017, just 11 days after the bodies of Liberty German and Abigail Williams were discovered. The FBI, Indiana State Police and Peru Police Department took part in serving the search warrant, and the investigation was focused on Kline allegedly soliciting underage girls.
According to a probable cause affidavit out of Miami County, obtained by 13News, Kline created the anthony_shots account approximately six months prior to when investigators interviewed him in February of 2017. He allegedly said he created the account to contact both girls he knew and girls he did not. Court documents show Kline saying he would talk to girls, even if they were under the age of 16, and that he found them on Instagram and then told them to message him on Snapchat.
Kline allegedly claimed to have received pictures from all of the girls he chatted with and had saved them.
According to court documents, while investigators talked to Kline shortly after he returned from Las Vegas. Investigators said he told them he was "f****ed and he should've left." Kline said he had planned to leave the area that day, after his dad fell asleep, according to the court documents.
In that probable cause affidavit, Kline said he received sexual photos and videos of the girls he was messaging.
Investigators seized six devices from Kline, including smartphones, a tablet and an iPod touch as part of the 2017 search warrant on the child pornography case.
The iPod Touch was last used in May of 2015 and contained sexually explicit images of children, according to court documents. Locations for some of the images came back to Hammond or Royal Center, Indiana.
One iPhone, last used May of 2015, contained sexual images of girls around the age of 14. The geo-location on the images came back to cities in Indiana, including Bunker Hill, Galveston, Indianapolis, Kokomo, Monterey and Royal Center.
A Samsung Galaxy phone, last used in June of 2015, contained sexually explicit images of children between 12 and 17 years old.
Another iPhone investigators found contained sexual images of children between 12 and 17, adults involved in sexual acts with children between the ages of 3 and 11, and images of drugs and Kline with a black handgun. That phone was last used November of 2016.
The tablet was last used in March of 2016 and showed conversations on Facebook Messenger and the user suggesting the conversations be moved to Kik Messenger or Snapchat, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Another Samsung Galaxy phone recovered was factory reset on Feb. 23, 2017 – nine days after the Delphi murders. A factory reset essentially wipes all user data from a device. investigators were able to get information on the device after the reset. It included discussions about meeting people in Las Vegas and prostitution.
On Feb. 27, 2017, Kline contacted police claiming he had located his iPhone 5. Investigators said they found images of females posing nude, but investigators could not determine their ages. Investigators also found much of the data from Facebook, Instagram, MeetMe, Snapchat and Twitter had been deleted. A review of the phone found that hours after police released him the day they searched his home, Feb. 25, he had uninstalled and deleted Snapchat and Instagram. The following day, MeetMe was uninstalled and deleted. The browser search history had also been deleted the morning of Feb. 27 before the phone was turned in to authorities.
13News has confirmed that Kegan Kline is still being held in the Miami County Jail. His next court hearing is set for Dec. 16.
13News wants to make it clear Kegan Kline has not been named a suspect in the Delphi murders. In Fact, ISP issued the following statement to 13News about Kline:
The Indiana State Police do not confirm or deny anyone who is or is not a suspect in any ongoing investigation. At this time, we are looking for any information about the “anthony_shots” profile and anyone who may have had contact with that profile. The case that you are referring to is a separate child pornography case.
Kegan Kline's court appointed public defender, Andrew Achey, released the following response to 13News.
My client had nothing to do with the unexpected, untimely and unfortunate passing of the girls in Delphi.
anthony_shots account investigation
On Dec. 6, 2021, Indiana State Police investigating the Delphi murders asked for help from anyone who had contact with the anthony_shots account profile.
Detectives said the account with the user name "anthony_shots" was used on Snapchat and Instagram, among other social media platforms, in 2016 and 2017. State police say the person behind the account used photos of a male model and "portrayed himself as being extremely wealthy and owning numerous sports cars."
Investigators say the person used the profile to communicate with underage girls to solicit nude images, and want to know if anyone got requests to get their address or try to meet with them.
Police said they've identified the male model that was used in the photos on the account and say that man is not a person of interest in the Delphi case.
Detectives ask anyone who communicated with the "anthony_shots" account or met, or attempted to meet, with the person behind the profile, reach out to police through the tip line set up for the investigation. Investigators are looking for as much information as those who communicated with the profile can provide, including how they communicated and through which social media platform.
Any saved images or conversations involving the "anthony_shots" account should be attached to an email, police said.
Tips and information can be emailed to abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com.
Delphi killings background
Abigail Williams and Liberty German went missing while walking on a trail near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Their bodies were found nearby a day later.
On Feb. 15, 2017, police released cell phone images from German's phone showing a suspect in the case coming across the bridge towards the girls.
A week later, police released audio from German's phone, in which you hear a man say, "Down the hill."
On July 17, 2017, police released a first sketch of a suspect.
On April 22, 2019, Indiana State Police released an updated sketch.
Investigators also released additional audio of the suspected killer from German's phone. Listen to the extended audio clip of the suspect here:
All tips welcomed
Those with information about the case can email abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com with as much information as possible, including:
- Suspect's name
- Date of birth or approximate age
- Physical description, including height, weight, hair color, eye color
- Address or location, including city
- Vehicle information including year, make, model, color
- Specific reason for the tip; Why could they be the suspect?
- Motivation for the crime
- Connection to Delphi, Indiana
Police say individuals don't need to have all of those pieces to send a tip, but do ask to include as many details as possible.