MIAMI COUNTY, Ind. (WXIN) — Indiana State Police released information in their investigation into the Delphi killings Tuesday night, appealing to the public for tips about a person tied to a social media account, but the account’s link to the case remains unclear.
ISP appealed for information about a social media profile with the name “anthony_shots,” saying only that it had been used on Snapchat and Instagram to contact juvenile females to solicit nude photos. The profile used images of a male model who portrayed himself as wealthy. The account, in addition to soliciting photos, also attempted to get addresses and arrange meetings, police said.
The profile was active in 2016 and 2017. State police have not provided any obvious link between the “anthony_shots” account and the Delphi case, saying only that the male model whose image was used was not a person of interest.
But it appears a person tied to that account was in custody in a case Indiana State Police were already investigating. On Feb. 25, 2017, ISP and FBI investigators executed a search warrant linked to the “anthony_shots” account. Their investigation led them to Miami County, according to court documents that have been heavily redacted.
They eventually found a man identified as Kegan Anthony Kline, who is currently 27 years old. Kline told police he’d used social media accounts to talk to underage girls, contacting both people he knew and didn’t know. He told police he would find girls on Instagram and then ask them to talk to him on Snapchat.
According to Kline, he exchanged messages with more than a dozen underage girls and received pictures from them. Kline said he had about 100 pictures from underage girls that were sexual in nature, in addition to about 20 sexually explicit videos.
As part of the investigation, authorities seized numerous electronics, including an Apple iPhone 4, Apple iPhone 3, Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung Galaxy S4, a Nextbook Tablet and an iPad Touch. They also examined an iPhone 5c that Kline turned in later.
Police found videos and photos showing underage girls posing nude/partially nude or engaging in sex acts. Some of the files were saved on electronic devices while others were shared in a Dropbox account.
Could this information help solve the case? Podcast host Stephanie Harlowe of “Crime Weekly” weighed in on NewsNation’s “Morning in America.”
Investigators also recovered full and partial transcripts of online chats through services like Kik and Facebook Messenger; Kline often used a pseudonym “emilyanne45” for some of the exchanges, according to the redacted court documents.
The iPhone 5c, the device that Kline had turned in later to police, had much of its data deleted, according to court documents. The web browser history on the Safari app had been erased as well, although investigators were able to recover some information.
“… the user of the Apple iPhone 5c deleted multiple items off the phone before turning it in to law enforcement,” according to the probable cause affidavit. Police executed the search warrant on Feb. 25, while Kline didn’t turn that phone in until Feb. 27.
A digital forensic report showed the user had uninstalled and deleted several apps, including MeetMe, Snapchat and Instagram. In an interview, Kline admitted to using the applications to chat with underage girls.
“The evidence contained in these applications was destroyed when the user deleted them from the device before turning it into law enforcement,” according to court documents.
A Samsung Galaxy S5 had been factory reset on Feb. 23, 2017. Investigators recovered some chat messages that referenced “meeting people in Las Vegas and prostitution,” according to court documents.
In August 2020, Kline was charged with 30 felonies, including possession of child pornography, child exploitation, obstruction of justice, child solicitation and synthetic identity deception, according to online court records.
The court documents in Kline’s case are heavily redacted, with information such as internet search history and chat transcripts blacked out. There appears to be no mention of the Delphi killings or any information linking Kline to the case.
Abby Williams and Libby German were found dead on Feb. 14, 2017. Indiana State Police and the FBI executed a search warrant in the Kline case on Feb. 25, 2017— more than a week later.
“Anyone who may have been contacted, met with or knows something about the ‘anthony_shots’ profile is asked to contact law enforcement,” Indiana State Police said in a statement released Monday night.