INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — For the first time, a central figure linked to the Delphi murder investigation will be heard. Kegan Kline is due in court Thursday morning.
Kline faces 30 child porn related charges. He used a fake social media profile to solicit pictures from at least 15 underage girls.
He also communicated with Liberty German the day she went missing.
Kline was arrested in August 2020, his case has been delayed more than a half dozen times. A pre-trial conference is scheduled in a Miami County courtroom, though this is largely a procedural hearing, it is the first time we have heard from him since his arrest.
“Kegan Kline is important to the wider discussion around the Delphi murders because in December of 2021, state police released a statement linking the murders sort of indirectly,” Aine Cain of the podcast Murder Sheet said.
Kline is accused of using an account titled @Anthony_Shots, a fake social media profile, to solicit sexually explicit pictures from underage girls. Police found dozens of pictures of underage girls on several phones and tablets owned by Kline. One of those girls who communicated with Kline via social media is Liberty German. 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,” podcaster Kevin Greelee said.
“Our understanding is that Liberty German thought she was texting and messaging with a much younger man who, is what Kegan Kline portrayed himself,” Cain said.
On Feb. 25 2017, 11 days after Liberty German and Abby Williams were found murdered, police raided Kline’s house. He had just returned from a trip to Las Vegas.
According to court documents, while in Vegas he used his phone several times to search for news stories about the Delphi murders.
When he got back to Indiana, he deleted several apps from his phones and put one of them in a microwave. Police were able to recover a great deal of information from his phones and other electronic devices.
During an interrogation with police in March 2022 Kline denied having any direct knowledge of the Delphi murders.
Earlier this year, 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, Indiana.
Kline’s father lives just a few blocks from the area. Police have not said what, if anything, was found during the five-week long search.
Kline may be trying to strike a deal with police and prosecutors in exchange for information, a source told I-team 8.
“We would be surprised if anything concrete came out about Delphi on Thursday. Now that being said, I think it is important to note that certain things that could potentially could be announced would have an impact on the Delphi case and notably that would be a deal has been reached and Kegan has plead out that would indicate that conversations around Delphi had been a part of that” said Cain
In addition to the hearing on Thursday, there is one more technical hearing in late December and the full jury trial is scheduled to begin in January of next year.
