The Delphi Murders: Covering the Case

Murder Sheet Podcast
Hosts: Áine (Anya) Cain & Kevin Greenlee
Episode Date: August 21, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Anya Cain and Kevin Greenlee, the duo behind the Murder Sheet podcast, open up about their journey covering the Delphi Murders case—the 2017 killing of Abigail Williams and Liberty German in Delphi, Indiana. With their new book, Shadow of the Bridge, imminent, they share candid behind-the-scenes stories not included in the book, discuss the emotional toll of the case, reflect on the challenges of reporting in the podcast medium, and examine how true crime coverage has evolved or faltered in the age of social media and conspiracy theories.

Key Discussion Points

1. Getting Involved in the Delphi Case

• Clarification of Their Start: The hosts address misconceptions that they were involved from the start, stating they only began covering Delphi after moving back to Indiana and being prompted by listeners and local friends.
  • “People say that, and then you don't want to correct somebody on air, so we just kind of let it hang there. But we did not cover it from... We didn’t know each other in 2017.” (06:18, Anya)
• Attraction to the Case: Anya discusses the universal, relatable fear stemming from the victim's innocence, while Kevin is bewildered by the legal world's lack of focus on the case.
  • “If you're the father or mother of a young… woman, that's just scary. And then… people relate to it because they could see themselves going out for a nice walk one day...” (09:57, Anya)
  • “We got comments from a number of lawyers… we don't understand why this story has generated the amount of attention it has.” (09:47, Kevin)

2. A Journalistic Approach & Not Becoming the Story

• Focus of Coverage: The hosts purposely keep themselves out of the spotlight in both podcast and book, emphasizing old-fashioned, source-based crime reporting.
  • “We are in the book very, very little. The real focus… is on the men and women working behind the scenes to secure justice for Abby and Libby.” (03:20, Kevin)
  • “We would be two random, awkward looking extras… We're not main characters here.” (03:47, Anya)

3. Breakthrough Moments in Reporting

• Anthony_Schatz/Kegan Klein Coverage: Uncovering the identity and background of Kegan Klein marked a pivotal moment where the hosts began conducting original investigations, not just summarizing others’ work.
  • “That was the real turning point because that's when Anya was the first one to realize that we could actually not just summarize information already out there. We could start trying to get information ourselves.” (12:45, Kevin)
• The "Oops" Leak Discovery: While seeking Kegan Klein's prison location, Kevin inadvertently accessed and downloaded sealed investigative transcripts mistakenly posted by the court—a move that led to both a scoop and fierce backlash.
  • “I look to see how other people are covering it and nobody else is… then I go back to my case and those things have been deleted.” (15:36, Kevin)
  • “Nobody believed us… The conspiracy was that ISP or somebody decided to do us a favor… there was no love for us within ISP… we have been annoying for a lot of the time.” (17:24–17:52, Hosts)
• Responsibility and Regrets: Both hosts reflect on their handling of the Ron Logan search warrant release, regretting not clarifying its historical (not current) context—leading some to believe Logan was the prime suspect.
  • “What I regret about that situation was I don’t think we explained it very well in retrospect. I think we were naive at the time about how we did that…” (24:44, Anya)

4. Handling Sources, Stress, and the Police

• Protecting Sources: The stress and ethical responsibility of managing sensitive sources is emphasized—especially as police actively tried to uncover their informants.
  • “There were times when people from the Indiana State Police tried to figure out our sources.” (30:03, Kevin)
  • “That was the most stressful… the classic trick of like, give everyone a different color or day of the week and see what leaks.” (30:28, Anya)
• Relationship with Law Enforcement: They clarify they did not receive leaks from ISP; rather, ISP sought to plug leaks by investigating the podcasters’ sources.

5. Online Threats, Trolls, and Community Reaction

• Toxicity in True Crime: The hosts recount sustained threats, the toxic competitiveness among online creators, and general chaos in the true crime community during high-profile cases.
  • “We got death threats. We got, like, threat. Like, someone posted our house on a discord. I mean, it was nuts.” (45:46, Anya)
  • “The threats and harassment, it works because a lot of sensible people… see the threats and harassment that people like us get, and then they stay out of the space.” (47:15, Kevin)
• Dividing Lines in Online Reporting: The hosts stress their refusal to engage in speculation or sensationalism, despite being categorized by some as just more “podcasters.”
  • “We weren’t reporting our hunches on the show… we knew that from multiple sources.” (38:16, Kevin)

6. Emotional and Ethical Challenges

• Impact of Crime Scene Photos Leak: The hosts describe being contacted with leaked crime scene photos—a traumatic, ethically fraught event. They tried (in vain) to stop the spread.
  • “On an emotional level, seeing them, like, that was really, really upsetting… I’ve never gotten the images out of my head.” (60:22, Anya)
  • “This defense team bears moral responsibility for the leak… this led to a man dying… that is their doing.” (62:54, Anya)
• Coping with the Trial’s Emotional Toll: Anya shares her difficulty seeing graphic trial evidence, even stepping out during proceedings due to distress.
  • “I just kind of had a panic attack, I think, and left in the hallway. I was just like, I can’t do this anymore.” (69:10, Anya)

7. Navigating the Delphi Trial

• Reporting Despite Burnout: The hosts considered quitting trial coverage due to exhaustion and emotional trauma, but were motivated to stay by the need to correct disinformation spread by others in the courtroom.
  • “Spite and anger kept us there. Like, we were just like, we can’t do this anymore… but there are people in that courtroom, there’s family members, there’s investigators who can’t leave. And it feels to them, we owe the truth.” (73:31–74:30, Anya and Kevin)
• Perceptions, Acquittal, and Guilt: The hosts discuss their shifting perspectives on Richard Allen’s culpability, their conscious neutrality on air, and misalignments between press room predictions and actual verdict.
  • “If someone covers a case in a way that leaves the audience confused about the outcome, they did a terrible job.” (86:47, Kevin)

8. Writing the Book (Shadow of the Bridge)

• How the Book Came About: Describes the approach to finding an agent, securing a publisher, and the intense process of writing while maintaining podcast output.
  • “We were doing, like, three episodes a week while also spending, what, 12-13 hours a day writing.” (93:04, Kevin)
• Donating Profits: Half of their advance is being donated to Abby & Libby’s memorial funds, showing ongoing commitment to the community.
  • “We made the personal decision to donate half of our advance to the park / Abby and Libby scholarship funds.” (112:00, Anya)

9. Reflections and Lessons Learned

• On Objectivity, Conspiracies, and Crowd Behavior:
  • “It’s not enough to sort of both sides a case like Delphi. It’s not enough to come in and say, ‘Ah yes, Odinism. Interesting.’ When Odinism is falling apart… we should say that, we’re not serving our audience by acting like, by whitewashing.” (104:40, Anya)
  • “Delphi has made me aware of the need to keep the victim centered… it was all too easy to forget that what this case is about… is the unimaginable loss of two wonderful girls.” (103:43, Kevin)
• On Community and Good People:
  • “There are people out there who will never give up and who will keep trying and keep doing what they need to do until answers come. So, that’s something that will stick with me forever.” (114:15, Anya)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On their role as reporters:
  “We’re not main characters here… We wanted to write an old-fashioned true crime book in the sense that it’s focused on the actual story.” (03:47–04:51, Anya)
• On journalist responsibility:
  “You can always release something later. You can't take something back once you've released it.” (53:07, Anya)
• On leaks:
  “This defense team bears moral responsibility for the leak… this led to a man dying, and that is on the hands of this defense team.” (62:54, Anya)
• On impact of the trial:
  “You could see a lot of it having an impact, I think, on the jury… It was hard. It was hard to look at. And I still… see some of that, you know, it's burned into my mind.” (71:25, Anya)
• On lessons and centering victims:
  “Centering the victims, too. I think, you know, by the end, the story became the girls solved their own case. And I want that to be what people remember about this.” (109:33, Anya)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Content warning & episode setup: [01:33]
• Clarifying when coverage began: [06:03–08:31]
• Why Delphi gripped the public: [09:47–11:59]
• Original reporting/finding Kegan Klein: [11:59–14:17]
• Discovering the leak & fallout: [15:31–18:37]
• On sources & law enforcement: [29:09–33:39]
• On the toxicity of online coverage: [43:42–47:48]
• Debating Allen’s guilt & trial coverage: [53:07–59:08]
• The emotional toll of leaked crime scene images: [60:10–66:43]
• Why they stuck with trial coverage (spite, sense of duty): [73:09–74:38]
• Writing the book: [90:42–94:05]
• Lessons learned & changes to true crime approach: [99:34–109:32]
• Closing reflections on community and hope: [113:40–115:44]

Tone

Conversational, self-critical, candid, passionate, and occasionally darkly humorous. The hosts’ banter and mutual respect for each other is evident throughout, as is a deep sense of responsibility toward victims and accuracy.

Conclusion

This episode offered a rare, deeply personal look at the mechanics and ethics of covering a notorious true crime case. The hosts share their missteps, emotional struggles, lessons learned, and reaffirm their dedication to respectful reporting. It also previews their book, which they hope will honor the victims and those who sought justice for them—while also serving as a corrective to some of the chaos and misinformation that surrounded this case in the public sphere.