An Indiana man accused of possessing child pornography, and who has suspected ties to the 2017 murders of two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana, is expected to plead guilty to dozens of alleged child exploitation crimes.
Kegan Kline, 28, is currently in custody in Miami County, Indiana, for some 25 child pornography-related charges dating back to 2016 and 2017. While he has never been charged in the Delphi murders, he was linked to the crime through a fictitious Instagram account that had apparently been in contact with 14-year-old Liberty German the night before she was murdered.
"If Kagan changes his plea from not guilty plea to guilty, of course, there will be no trial," Áine Cain, co-host of "The Murder Sheet" podcast, which has been following the Delphi murder case, told Fox News Digital. "On the one hand, that would spare Miami County expense and… it's a pretty traumatic case.… At the same time, I think it will also deprive the public of some more details and answers on what exactly is going on here because a trial is an opportunity for both sides to say their piece."
No trial in Kline's case will leave "some questions unanswered," she added.
DELPHI MURDERS: INDIANA POLICE INVESTIGATING FAKE PROFILE THAT CONTACTED TEEN GIRLS
Indiana authorities in October arrested Richard Allen, 50, in connection with the Feb. 14, 2017, killings of Liberty "Libby" German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13. German's sister dropped the pair off at the entrance of a popular hiking trail the day prior.
Forensic analysis carried out by the Indiana State Police Laboratory on a pistol found at Allen's home determined that an "unspent round located within two feet of Victim 2’s body had been cycled through Richard Allen’s Sig Sauer Model P226," an affidavit alleges.
After Allen's arrest, Kline's connection to the Delphi case became muddled.
DELPHI MURDERS: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE 2017 KILLINGS OF LIBBY GERMAN AND ABBY WILLIAMS
"It's very apparent that there was an investigation into Kegan as it pertains to Delphi, but it's not clear where that stands now that there's been another man arrested," Cain explained. "So, we feel the significance of his possible upcoming guilty plea… underscores a lot of the confusion remaining in this case."
Kline's plea hearing will take place in Miami County on Thursday morning.
Investigators alleged in a transcript obtained by Cain and co-host Kevin Greenlee that Kline made plans through the Instagram account to meet up with German at the bridge where her body was found the next day, but he denies that he had anything to do with the girls' killings.
In December 2021, Indiana State Police said in a Facebook post that it had uncovered a fictitious Instagram account under the username "Anthony_Shots" during its investigation into the murders. A transcript obtained by Greenlee and Cain indicates that Kline had access to the account, which had been in contact with German. Kline told investigators, however, that he gave the account password to "a lot of people," according to the document.
"This profile was being used from 2016 to 2017 on social media applications, including but not limited to, Snapchat and Instagram," Indiana police said in the Facebook post. "The fictitious anthony_shots profile used images of a known male model and portrayed himself as being extremely wealthy and owning numerous sports cars. The creator of the fictitious profile used this information while communicating with juvenile females to solicit nude images, obtain their addresses, and attempt to meet them. Pictured below, you’ll see images of the known male model and images the fictitious anthony_shots profile sent to underage females."
Greenlee and Cain have given Kline the opportunity to speak with them on the record, but he has only offered to do so in exchange for money, which they have declined as per their responsibilities as journalists.
Authorities are asking anyone who may know something about the Instagram profile or anything about the case to contact law enforcement at abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com or 765-822-3535.
