The Delphi Murders Case

If you haven't heard about this case, where two young middle-school best friends were brutally murdered in 2017 in Delphi, Indiana, let me tell you a bit about it.

Presently, I've been deep-diving into the case for a podcast, and let me tell you, there is a LOT of information to go through. The information that law enforcement has provided however, is quite limited. Here is what we do know.

On February 13, 2017, two teenage girls, Abigail "Abby" Williams, and Liberty "Libby" Germain, were dropped by at the local trail to the Monon High Bridge at around 1pm. The girls were going to enjoy some time in the outdoors, as well as hang out on the abandoned rail bridge. 

When Libby's father returned to pick up the girls a couple of hours later, neither were anywhere to be found. Cell phone calls and messages went unanswered. A search was quickly put together to find the young teenage girls. 

The next day, at approximately 12:15pm on February 14th, the bodies of the two girls were located about a half of a mile away from the bridge off of the Delphi Historic Trail. 

Not much was, nor continues to be released by law enforcement about how the girls were found. What is known is that Libby took video on her cell phone of an unknown man walking on the Monon Bridge toward her and Abby. Stills of the suspect were created, however the video is not the best quality.

Libby was also able to obtain some audio of the man, who has since become known as "Bridge Guy." The three words of audio were released to the media on February 15, 2017. The three words, "down the hill," have haunted investigators, and those following the case. 

Bridge Guy is described as a white male, wearing blue jeans, a blue jacket/hoodie, and a hoodie. Two different potential sketches of the suspect have been released. Bridge Guy may be one or the other, or even a combination of the two images. 

We are coming upon almost 5 years later next month, and it seems authorities are no closer to locating Bridge Guy, or whomever murdered Abby and Libby. 

This is a rabbit hole that I've entered researching like I previously said, and I am not even through everything. I'm hoping to get a friend to co-host a podcast or live video about it soon on the YouTube Channel. This is definitely a case I want to discuss and look forward to learning the truth about. More coming soon here on the blog and on YouTube.

Here is the official website for tips on the murder of Abby & Libby.

The Murder of Helen Clevenger

 

New video up on my YouTube channel about the murder of college student, Helen Clevenger back in 1936. She was on vacation with her uncle in Asheville, North Carolina when she was brutally murdered in her hotel room.

Note: I tried a video podcast approach to this one. Let me know what you think. I'm still experimenting on the way I do them. 

Murder in the Land of the Sky

Seeking Justice for Mount Dora Couple

 

On November 30, 2020, a robber confronted and shot Kheim "Ken" Ba Trinh and Minh "Tina" Nguyen as they were closing their store, T & N Market in Mount Dora, FL. Just over a year later, the case is still being worked daily by the Mount Dora Police Department.

The suspect was wearing all black with a hoodie up over his head. He approached Ken back into the store at gunpoint, where he robbed them. Tina begged the gunman not to hurt them, telling him "I promise you, I won't do anything." Sadly, moments later, he shoots both Tina and Ken as seen in the security footage. 

Tina died on the scene, and Ken passed a few days later in the hospital. The couple left behind two children, one who was 18-years-old, and another who was 12-years-old at the time. 

The community came out in force after the the horrible crime. A candlelight vigil was held outside the market, where many came out with flowers, balloons and stuffed animals. Locals described the pair as friendly and always willing to help. 

Police are asking everyone to please look at the video surveillance images and pay attention to the mannerisms of the suspect, specifically how he’s holding the gun, how he runs, how he reacts, and his voice. There is a $10,000 reward for tips that lead to an arrest. Call 800-423-TIPS with any information you may have.

 

The Shooting of Ahmaud Arbery

On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery was pursued while running near Brunswick, GA. The 25-year-old was fatally shot by Travis McMichel, who was chasing him in a pickup truck with his father, Gregory McMichael. Another vehicle, followed the McMichels, with William Bryan inside. (the graphic video can be seen here)

The Glynn County Police Department responded to the shooting, and was advised by the Brunswick District Attorney not to make any arrests. The District Attorney's office would later deny that they told the police that recommendation. The case ended up being transferred through four different prosecutors offices, with all not pursuing charges in the shooting. 

On May 5, 2020, a video of the shooting went viral online. It wasn't long after that District Attorney, Tom Durden informed that a grand jury would ultimately decide whether charges would be brought on the case. It was then that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) at the bequest of Governor Brian Kemp began investigating.

Two days later, on May 7th, the GBI arrested the McMichaels and later, William "Robbie" Bryan on May 21st. The trio was charged with felony murder and other crimes. Additional evidence was presented by the prosecutor on June 4th to support the murder charges on the men. Included in the evidence was a statement to the GBI by Bryan that Travis McMichel said, "f--king n-----r" as Ahmaud Arbery laid on the ground dying. The grand jury indicted all three of the men on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggrevated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

On April 28, 2021, the three men were all indicted on federal charges of one count each of the interference with rights, which is a hate crime as well attempted kidnapping. Both Travis and Gregory McMichaels were also charged with separate counts of using firearms during the crime of violence.

Jury selection began on October 18th, 2021 for the case. 600 people were summoned to jury duty on that date, yet only 283 people actually showed up according to the Clerk of Superior Court for Glynn County, Ron Adams. The next day, October 19th, another 400 potential  jurors were summoned, and only half that number showed up. The attorneys and judge for the case are working to narrow down the number of possible jurors to 64, before narrowing that number down to the final 12 jurors with 4 alternates.

The jury selection process is proving to be difficult, as many potential jurors have reservations about serving and have already formed strong opinions on the case. It's definitely not going to be easy to seat a jury with how polarizing this case has been in the community. 

The actual trial is set to begin November 5th. 

 

What are your thoughts on the Ahamud Arbery shooting? 

Will you be following the trial next year?

Gabby Petito case - Where do we go from here?

I've been following the Gabby Petito case since hearing about her disappearance on September 11th. It's a case that has garnered attention across the world. She was a young, 22-year-old girl, with so much life ahead of her as she set off on July 2nd with her fiance Brian Laundrie to embark on a cross-country van trip. She was planning on documenting the journey on her YouTube Channel, Nomadic Statik. 

The couple had a seemingly picture-perfect life together, as documented on their Instagram pages. Life wasn't as great as it appeared though, and things began to fall apart during a traffic stop on August 12th in Moab, Utah. Police received calls that the duo were fighting, and that Brian hit Gabby.

 

Police spoke with the couple for over an hour, as recorded by body cam footage that would later be released to the public. Gabby was visibly distraught and constantly apologizing for everything, while Brian seemed to make light of the domestic situation to officers. The situation concluded with them being separated for the evening, and a finding that Gabby was the aggressor. 

 After the domestic situation in Moab, Brian flies back home to Florida on August 17th. He stays with his parents through August 23rd, as he was supposedly cleaning out and closing the couple's storage unit to save money. During this time, Gabby was alone back in Utah. 

The last known sighting of the couple seems to be on August 27th at the Merry Piglet restaurant in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. A women named Nina Angelo witnessed Brian yelling at the hostess, while Gabby was crying and apologizing. 

On September 1st, Brian Laundrie returned home to North Port alone with the van. No Gabby, just Brian and the van the two had been traveling in together. This is where things get weird and information gets limited and possibly sketchy.

Somewhere between the time Brian comes back to Florida, and September 11th, Gabby's family tries getting in contact with Chris and Roberta Laundrie, Brian's parents about the whereabouts of their daughter and Brian. Their calls and text messages go unanswered. There is a visit to the AT&T store to purchase a new phone during this time frame, as well as a Laundrie family camping trip to Fort deSoto Park. Cassie Laundrie, Brian's sister and her family also join in on the Fort deSoto trip.

On September 11th, Gabby's parents call the Suffolk County Police in New York at 6:55pm to report their daughter missing. Police in Florida are informed of the report, and North Port officers arrive at the Laundrie residence later that evening. When they attempt to speak to Chris and Roberta Laundrie, they are handed the phone number to their lawyer, refusing to say a word. The van was in the Laundries driveway, so it was taken in by law enforcement for evidence processing. It was then that the search for the missing Gabby Petito was on.

Four days later, on September 15th, Brian Laundrie was officially named a person of interest in Gabby's disappearance. He had yet to make himself available to investigators for an interview, or be helpful in any way. The Laundrie family had decided to remain silent. 

Meanwhile, Gabby's family was desperate for any information about the whereabouts of their daughter. On September 16th, Joe Petito, Gabby's biological father pleaded during a press conference for his daughter's safe return and for Brian to speak up. 

 

On September 17th, the Laundrie family attorney reported Brian Laundrie missing to authorities. Law Enforcement was told that he left home on September 14th (later changed to the 13th) for a walk at the Carlton Reserve. He took the family mustang as well as a backpack and never returned. 

A massive search was now underway for both Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie. the FBI and officials searching Wyoming for Petito, and the North Port Police now searching Carlton Reserve for Laundrie.

After a tip from YouTuber, Red White & Bethune after discovering video of the missing couple's van on their Go Pro footage from August 27th, authorities were aided in their discovery of the body of Gabby Petito. Her remains were found a short distance from where the van was parked as seen in the aforementioned video.

Two days later, the Teton County Coroner, Dr Brent Blue released his initial determination of Gabby Petito's death being a homicide.

During this time, Brian Laundrie remained missing, and the search for him continued in the Carlton Reserve. FBI swarmed the Laundrie family home to collect evidence, and towed the Mustang back to their garage to be searched. 

Authorities searched the Carlton Reserve for weeks, and Dog the Bounty Hunter joined the search for Brian Laundrie, taking his investigation out to Fort deSoto Park. There were many leads all over to law enforcement, Dog, as well as to John Walsh's confidental line, but nothing was leading to much.

FBI put out a federal arrest warrant for Brian Laundrie on September 22nd for intent to defraud after using Gabby's debit card after her death. This made Brian more than a person of interest, allowing authorities to take him into custody once they located him.

We finally learned on October 12th, the cause of death in the homicide of Gabby Petito. The Teton County Coroner stated she was killed by manual strangulation/throttling. Further, she had been deceased for 3-4 weeks by the time her body was discovered back on September 19th. 

Eight days later, on October 20th, Chris & Roberta Laundrie decided they wanted to go out to the Carlton Reserve to search for their son, Brian. The park had just been opened the day before to the public again. It was during their short search of about 30 minutes, that Chris Laundrie found a dry bag and notebook as well as other articles belonging to his son. Soon after, partial human remains were discovered nearby, and the medical examiner was called to the scene.

On October 21st, the Laundrie family attorney, Steven Bertolino released a statement informing that the remains found the previous day in the Carlton Reserve were in fact that of Brian Laundrie. We later learned that the medical examiner used dental records to make the identification.

 

So... where do we go from here? For those following this case, there are many questions that remain.

What happened to Gabby in late August? I believe that Brian killed her, but why? Was it out of a fit of rage? Did they have an argument that went too far? 

When Brian returned home on September 1st, what did he tell his parents about Gabby? Did he make up a story about them breaking up? Did he tell them he killed her? 

Was that family camping trip on September 6th through 7th a sort of good-bye? Was there not talk of Gabby being missing? 

What do his parents and his sister know?

When did Brian die? I suspect that he somehow committed suicide, making this another sad murder/suicide "love story." Did he do it within the first few days of being gone? Considering the authorities have only found bones, he must have been dead for some time. 

We can only hope that Brian's notebook has some answers, and that his parents, Chris and Roberta will come forward and say what they do know. Only time will tell....