Kegan Kline, child porn suspect linked to Delphi murders investigation, in court Thursday
PERU, Ind. (WISH) — Kegan Kline, a central figure in the Delphi murders investigation, will appear in a Miami County courtroom Thursday morning for a pretrial hearing in his child pornography case.
Kline, 28, of Kokomo, has been linked to the investigation into the 2017 murders of Abigail “Abby” Williams and Liberty “Libby” German near Delphi. He has not been charged in that case and has not been publicly named a suspect in their deaths.
Kline faces 25 charges related to child pornography and exploitation in an unrelated case. Five additional child porn-related charges were dismissed in November after prosecutors claimed insufficient evidence.
Prosecutors say Kline used a phony social media profile called “anthony_shots” to solicit sexually explicit photos from at least 15 underage girls. Investigators found dozens of the images saved to Kline’s phone and tablet.
One of the girls Kline communicated with using the “anthony_shots” profile was Libby German, police say. The messages show her discussing a meeting with him.
“Kegan Kline is actually known to have been in contact with one of the victims, in this case, Liberty German. In fact, he was in contact with her on the very day of the murder,” Kevin Greenlee, co-host of the Murder Sheet podcast, told News 8’s Richard Essex in October.
“Our understanding is that Liberty German thought she was texting and messaging with a much younger man, who is how Kegan Kline portrayed himself,” Aine Cain, co-host of the Murder Sheet podcast, told Essex.
During an interrogation with police in March 2022, Kline denied having any direct knowledge of the murders. Earlier this year, Indiana State Police took Kline from the Miami County Jail for further questioning. A few days later, investigators were seen searching the Wabash River in Peru; police have not said what, if anything, was found during the search.
Kline’s pretrial hearing begins at 10 a.m.
A decorum order, issued before a similar hearing in October, remains in place.
Indiana bans cameras in the courtroom, and the judge’s order says computers and other electronic devices for taking notes will not be allowed. The public and members of the media will be allowed to make text-based social media posts on Twitter and other platforms, but live streaming is prohibited. Also not allowed: any rebroadcast of the court’s audio-video systems.
A full jury trial is set to begin in May.
Indiana State Police in October announced that a suspect, 50-year-old Richard Allen, of Delphi, had been arrested for the Delphi murders. The police investigation is ongoing and more arrests are possible.