During an Aug. 2020 interview with police, Kegan Kline acknowledged he interacted online with Libby German before she was killed. Kline has not been charged in the Delphi case, and is awaiting trial in a separate child pornography case.
An Indiana man who acknowledged interacting online with Delphi homicide victim Libby German before her death was temporarily transferred from the Miami County Jail into the custody of state police last Friday, according to local media reports, citing an unsealed court order.
Kegan Kline, 27, of Peru, Indiana, has been jailed since 2020 for allegedly soliciting and possessing child pornography using a fake social media persona. He pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
Kline has not been charged or identified as a suspect in the 2017 slayings of 14-year-old Libby and her best friend, 13-year-old Abby Williams, who were killed while hiking near a railroad trestle.
But public interest in a possible link between Kline and the Delphi case began last December, when it was alleged in an affidavit that Kline admitted to creating a fake social media persona known as “anthony_shots” to interact with, solicit nude photos and attempt to meet with underage girls.
“The fictitious anthony_shots profile used images of a known male model and portrayed himself as being extremely wealthy and owning numerous sports cars,” Delphi investigators said in a press release seeking information about the account, without naming Kline.
Days later, Kline was linked to the anthony_shots moniker in an August 2020 probable cause affidavit that surfaced in media reports.
According to the affidavit, “[Kline] admitted to creating the anthony_shots profile and speaking to underaged girls” during a February 2017 interview with authorities. On the day of the interview, authorities were executing a search warrant at Kline’s home and seized multiple devices, the heavily redacted affidavit read.
After he was arrested in the child porn case, Kline acknowledged in an interview with police that he interacted with Libby German online before she was killed, according a transcript obtained by "The Murder Sheet" podcast, which has been covering the case.
During the interview, police asked Kline when he met Libby German.
"I don't know. I literally don't know. It had to be on Instagram or something," Kline replied, according to the transcript.
"Okay. So she added you on Instagram. When was that, would you say?" an investigator asked.
"I literally have no clue," Kline answered. "I don't remember talking to her, really. I didn't even know who she really was until after I saw that on the news and I was like, oh wow, that name. Like, I remembered the name."
“The Murder Sheet” podcast hosts said in a recent episode that they saw authorities searching the Wabash River in Peru, near Kline’s former home on Aug. 23. There has been no confirmation if the search was tied to Kline’s case or recent transfer of custody.
Kline’s attorney and the prosecutor both requested Kline’s temporary transfer to police custody last week, Fox 59 reported, citing unsealed court documents. His attorney then filed a request to delay a pre-trial conference due to negotiations in progress, according to the outlet.
Kline's lawyer has previously said his client had nothing to do with the Delphi murders.
