Authorities announced earlier this week that they would be taking a closer look at a kidnapping suspect who might be connected to the 2017 murder of two Delphi, Indiana, teen girls.
James Brian Chadwell was arrested last week after he allegedly kidnapped, assaulted, and sexually abused a 9-year-old girl in Lafayette, Indiana, 20 miles outside of the small city of Delphi where the two girls were murdered.
On April 19, Chadwell lured the 9-year-old into his home after he convinced her to come in so that she could pet his dogs. Once inside, Chadwell allegedly beat the girl and locked her in his basement where she was later found by police. Police believe that Chadwell intended on killing the young girl.
Prosecutors in Tippecanoe County have charged Chadwell with child molestation, attempted child molesting, kidnapping, criminal confinement, battery, and attempted murder.
Soon after Chadwell's arrest, Carrol County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby shared with reporters at the Journal & Courier, "The information [regarding Mr. Chadwell] has been shared with us and our investigators are looking into him."
Authorities have not revealed the details of why they are looking into Chadwell, but Chadwell's proximity to the Delphi murders and the actions he took against his victim have made him worthy of a second glance for a possible connection to the 2017 murders.
The Delphi murders have haunted the small, close-knit community of Delphi, Indiana, for several years now. Thirteen-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German went missing on February 13, 2017, after they were dropped off at the Delphi Historic Trails where they were hiking the area near the Monon High Bridge over Deer Creek. Search teams went out looking for the girls and their bodies were recovered the next day at the base of the creek underneath the bridge.
Police also released an audio recording that has the voice of who authorities believe to be the assailant. In the recording, a man can be heard saying “Guys, down the hill.” Both the video and the audio recordings were pulled from German’s smartphone. Authorities believe that the 14-year-old began recording when she sensed the danger they were in.
Authorities have since released two sketches of who they believe the assailant might be. During a press conference, authorities shared that they believed the killer was “hiding in plain sight.” Sheriff Leazenby has shared little detail regarding how the girls died and what information they have on the murderer, but he explains that he believes the person responsible for the deaths of these two girls either lived or worked in the town of Delphi or was familiar with the town in another capacity.
Following the news of Chadwell’s arrest, German's older sister Kelsi German took to social media to encourage people to stop comparing past sketches with Chadwell. German posted online urging the public to give any information they have to the police. She explains, “It’s better to send that straight to law enforcement and let them do the job and not let the person that’s being investigated know that they’re going to be talked to in the case, that it is that person, and they find out and decide to run and make it harder for the police to find them.”
Sheriff Leazenby shared a similar message on Wednesday asking the public not to do "side-by-side comparisons" with police sketches and Chadwell. Leazenby explains, "Someone looks like somebody, that obviously does not mean that is the person."
Chadwell is not the first individual to be looked at closely in connection to the case. Family members and authorities are continuing to urge the public that if they have any information they think might be relevant to the case, to contact authorities at abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com.
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