DELPHI, Ind. (WXIN) – A search warrant reveals new details in the investigation into the 2017 murders of Abby Williams and Libby German in Delphi, Indiana.
According to a search warrant obtained by the Murder Sheet Podcast and provided to WXIN, an FBI agent wrote that she had probable cause to search Ron Logan’s property in connection with the murders and believed evidence may have been found there.
The agent wanted to search Logan’s home, outbuildings and vehicle for anything pertaining to the teens’ murders, including forensic evidence, hair, bodily fluids, guns and cutting instruments. The FBI also sought electronic devices and storage media, according to the search warrant.
Logan owned the property where the girls' bodies were found.
The warrant provides additional details about the investigation, some of which have remained unknown to the public.
On Feb. 13, 2017, Abby Williams and Libby German went for a walk on the Monon High Bridge Trail. A family member was supposed to pick them up in the afternoon. However, they never showed up, setting off a frantic search that ended the next day, when the girls’ bodies were discovered.
Evidence released to the public included a photo of a heavyset suspect in a blue jacket and brief audio of a man’s voice saying, “Down the hill.” The search warrant revealed that the recording from Libby German’s phone lasted 43 seconds, a fraction of which has been made public.
Investigators have long believed the individual in the video participated in the murders.
The girls’ bodies were discovered on property owned by Ron Logan, about 1,400 feet from Logan’s residence. “A large amount of blood was lost by the victims at the crime scene,” according to the search warrant. Because of the amount of blood, investigators believed the perpetrator would have gotten blood on their hands or clothing.
The killer likely took a souvenir from the crime scene, according to the document, and it “appeared the girls’ bodies were moved and staged.” The redacted search warrant didn’t specify what was missing and noted that the “rest of their clothing was recovered.” There were no signs of a “struggle or fight.”
The agent suspected the killer physically removed something or took photos to “memorialize the crime scene.” Crime scene investigators also recovered unknown fibers and unidentified hairs.
The agent wrote that Logan’s physical build appeared to be consistent with that of the man seen on the video. Women interviewed about Logan said he’d been violent with them in the past, with one remarking she was frightened of him. Both women told investigators they thought Logan was the man in the video.
Another key piece of information: Logan’s “voice is not inconsistent with that of the person in the video,” according to the document.
The warrant noted that Logan owned numerous weapons including handguns and knives. Police knew about the items because they’d searched his home as part of an investigation into a probation violation; the search was limited to firearms and only included his main home.
The search warrant revealed that Logan lied about his alibi. According to the document, Logan told investigators a friend had picked him up from home on Feb. 13 between “2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.” so he could go to an aquarium store in Lafayette, Indiana.
He contacted a family member on the morning of Feb. 14 and instructed them to tell police about the trip. He also asked the family member to say they’d returned home between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Investigators did find a receipt from the store dated Feb. 13 with a checkout time of 5:21 p.m. during a March 6, 2017, search related to the probation violation. It would take Logan about 30 minutes to get from the store to his home, putting the 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. return timeline in doubt.
Investigators believe Logan lied about his alibi, making “statements that were found to be factually false and intentionally designed to deceive” law enforcement, according to the search warrant.
The person who Logan said had driven him to the aquarium store confirmed the trip with an investigator during a March 7 interview. Two days later, during an interview with a different investigator, the individual told police he’d lied during the March 7 interview because Logan had asked him to do so. The person said Logan “had never asked [him] to lie in the past.”
Investigators said it appeared Logan asked the family member to lie about the alibi before any crime had been discovered.
Police also learned Logan drove a pickup truck to the transfer station in Delphi to drop off trash on Feb. 13, likely between 11:53 a.m. and 11:58 a.m. The admission led to the investigation into his probation violation, as Logan was prohibited from driving.
Cellphone tower data showed Logan’s cellphone was in Delphi in the area near the Monon High Bridge Trail on the afternoon of Feb. 13, investigators said. A text message sent from his phone at 7:56 p.m. on Feb. 13 indicated the phone was “likely outside of his residence” and “in the proximity” of the murder scene.
Just days after the murders, Logan led reporters on a tour of his property and took them to the crime scene. He said he’d lived on the property for 50 years and couldn’t fathom how the girls could have reached the area where they were found.
Logan died in 2020. He has never been named as a suspect or charged in connection with the Delphi murders.
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/MIFfKBz
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