In last Sunday’s The Interview Room with Chris McDonough, former FBI profiler and executive director of the Cold Case Foundation, Gregory Cooper, sketched out a possible profile of the murderer of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, of Delphi, Indiana. Assessing solely the Delphi predator’s approach to the crime, Cooper was able to infer a number of probable traits and behaviors exhibited by Bridge Guy. In a somewhat startling claim, Cooper asserted that he believed this crime was not Bridge Guy’s first attempt to go from fantasy to reality.
“I don’t think it was his first time. I think there were other incidents….I think there were other approaches he’s made in the past…maybe other types of assaults…other efforts that have been made. But he’s been practicing, most likely.”
Although not a lot is known about the actual crime scene, Cooper was able to offer some thoughts on the Delphi predator from what is known. Former Carroll County Prosecutor Robert Ives has described the crime scene as “odd” and that it displayed at least three “signatures.” Drawing on that information, Cooper formed some conclusions about Bridge Guy.
“(The presence of) signatures suggest the probability exists that this individual has either committed crimes in the past and/or most likely will commit crimes in the future.”
Cooper also concluded the signatures suggest an emotional and psychological investment in the crime scene. Whereas Ives described the crime scene as ‘staged’ in an effort to trick investigators, Cooper differs from him on that point.
“This is posing….Posing of the body is more of a signature where you‘re now projecting a psychological perspective….There are things he did with those victims that meant something to him….A projection of the personality of the offender into the crime scene. It meant something to him.”
So where does this leave some of the more recent individuals put forward as possible suspects? Do they fit the profile laid out by Cooper during his appearance on The Interview Room?
Due to the recent release of an FBI search warrant affidavit by the Murder Sheet podcast, a number of online sleuthers have been putting forward the now deceased Ron Logan as the killer of Abby and Libby. However, from what is publicly known about Logan, he doesn’t seem to fit Cooper’s profile of the Delphi predator. Additionally, it appears nothing ever came of the search of Logan’s property. To be sure, Logan would have to be one of the most thoughtless predators in criminal history to commit a crime in what is essentially his own backyard and then make no effort to conceal or dispose of the bodies.
One individual authorities have looked at pretty intensely is Kegan Kline. Currently sitting in jail on multiple counts of possession of child pornography, child exploitation and child solicitation, investigators seem to believe he had some involvement or knows something about who perpetrated the murders. The transcript of his interrogation also reveals investigators attempting to pull Kegan’s father, Tony Kline, into the investigation. How many of the boxes do either of the Kline’s check on Gregory Cooper’s Delphi predator profile? Neither of the Klines seem like a perfect fit, but there is much we don’t know about them and it’s possible Cooper’s profile is not without its flaws.
However, this brings up an interesting comment made by former WISH-TV journalist, Demie Johnson, who, during a recent appearance on the Murder Sheet podcast, related information she received from sources inside law enforcment.
“Who else are they looking at? Because I was told in the very beginning when I learned about Kegan Kline that he’s not the guy, he just knows who it is or is part of it. So, to me, it’s like who do they know it is or who do they think it is and why can’t they go after that person? What’s missing and was it a mistake by law enforcement? Did they make mistakes along the way?”
Indeed, one gets the impression from the Kegan Kline interrogation that investigators don’t think he’s the perpetrator. But due to the fact that he was in contact with Liberty the day of the murders, coupled with the peeping tom incident that arose from exchanges with the anthony_shots profile, Kline clearly has some explaining to do. Of course, Kline’s father is the closest person in his orbit, but there are probably many others in the Kline milieu and beyond that are being looked at.
Whoever the Delphi predator is, if he evenly broadly matches Cooper’s profile, it is almost a cosmic certainty that he is deeply immersed in online pornography and some of that most likely involves CSAM. The likelihood that this crime is linked to some organized ring or loose confederation of child predators of diverse intentions and degrees of depravity seems like a pretty good bet. Could one of their number have obtained information about the girls via Kegan Kline or the anthony_shots profile and chose that opportunity to make his approach and carry out his dark fantasies?
If there is something 