A BOGUS social media profile recently linked to the Delphi "Snapchat murders" flaunted a falsified flashy lifestyle complete with sports cars and designer clothes in an effort to groom underage girls online.

The account, called anthony_shots, was active on Snapchat and Instagram between 2016 and 2017 and has since been revealed to have been set up by Kegan Anthony Kline, 27, who has been charged with child porn offenses.

Police have so far refused to comment on whether Kline is being investigated in connection to the Delphi murders and failed to specify precisely why they believe the account could be linked to the 2017 killings of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14.

In a news release issued earlier this week, Indiana State Police said they were seeking information about the account and anyone who potentially met up with the person behind it.

The fake profile used stolen images of a male model and portrayed himself as being extremely wealthy.

Some of the posts used by the catfish were lifted directly from the model's Instagram page, showing him posing shirtless in the mirror.

Other posts uploaded to Snapchat showed the bogus account appearing to order thousands of dollars worth of clothes at luxury brands like Gucci, and driving behind the wheel of Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

"Which one should I drive?" read one post about the cars, showing an orange Lamborghini parked in a garage.

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Another post showed stacks of $100 bills piled up on a table.

CATFISH GROOMED YOUNG GIRLS

Indiana State Police said the creator of the profile used their contrived opulence while communicating with underage girls to "solicit nude images, obtain their addresses, and attempt to meet them."

The identity of the male model, who was first identified by The Sun, is known by police and he isn't considered a person of interest. His images were stolen without his consent or knowledge, officials said.

In a statement, the model, who now works as a cop in Alaska, said he was unable to comment on the case but confirmed he is helping with the investigation.

He also said he wasn't forewarned that Indiana State Police would be releasing his photos prior to Tuesday's release.

Kline was identified as the culprit behind the account in an affidavit following a raid on his home on February 25, 2017 – just 11 days after the bodies of Liberty and Abby were found.

The 27-year-old, who is currently in police custody, was charged in August 2020 with 30 felonies, including child exploitation, possession of child pornography, obstruction of justice, and synthetic identity deception.

Kline reportedly admitted to police that he'd use the bogus 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. 

Investigators seized six devices from Kline, including smartphones, a tablet, and an iPod touch as part of the 2017 raid. Many of them contained images of "child sex abuse material," records show.

“There were CSAM (child sex abuse material) filed that depicted female children approximately 12 to 17 years of age, posing nude and/or partially nude; and/or performing a sex act on themselves.

"There were files located which depicted children between the approximate ages of 3 and 11 engaged in a sex act with an adult,” on his iPhone 4, according to court documents.

Investigators also found a discussion of sharing links with child pornography files on Dropbox with another party who is not identified in court documents.

According to online court records, Kline is back in court for a pretrial conference on December 16. Online jail records list him as currently being in custody in Miami County.

NEW LEADS

Anyone who tried to meet with or communicated with the anthony_shots profile has been told to contact state police immediately.

It's currently unclear whether police believe Abby and Libby met with Kline or if they had been in communication with him prior to their deaths.

Sergeant Jeremy Piers said in a statement that his department has received an influx of tips and potential new leads over the last few days.

The two friends vanished while walking along the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi on February 13, 2017.

Their bodies were found the following day around half a mile from the tracks, near a river.

Within days of the killings, investigators released two grainy photos of a suspect walking on the abandoned railroad bridge the girls had visited.

They also released an audio recording of a man believed to be the suspect saying “down the hill" which was recorded by Libby on her phone.

Then, in April 2019, a video was released which shows the man suspected of killing the teens walking on the abandoned railroad bridge the girls had visited.

Relatively few updates have been shared by investigators in the years since.

Reacting to the development in the case, Abby's grandfather Eric Erksin told The Sun that he was "thankful" for the potential breakthrough in the probe.

"I'm thankful for that [news release] because it proves that law enforcement are still working," he said.

"That's all we can ask. And as difficult as it all is, we just have to leave them to it and let them do their jobs."

Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to send tips to this email address: [email protected]

Information sent by email is kept confidential and is only shared with investigators. The telephone Tip Line is (844) 459-5786. Tips are also accepted by the Indiana State Police at (800) 382-7537, or by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department at (765) 564-2413.

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