DELPHI, Ind. -- A lot of speculation is flying around about whether or not the latest person of interest in the murders of Libby and Abby could actually be the girls' killer.
Daniel Nations, 31, was arrested on September 27 by police in Colorado Springs who said his car matched one belonging to a man who had threatened several hikers in the area with a hatchet. Police found a hatchet and a gun in Nation's car, which had expired Indiana plates.
A sheriff's department in Colorado contacted Indiana State Police after receiving multiple tips comparing Nations' mugshot to the sketch of the Delphi killer.
READ | Who is Daniel Nations?
The two departments have since been comparing notes and see if there were any connections in the cases and Indiana State Police even flew troopers "with intimate knowledge" of the Delphi investigation to Colorado to interview Nations and "collect evidence."
So far, Nations does not face any charges in connection with Delphi and Indiana State Police have not said what connection, if any, there might be between the two cases.
DELPHI TIMELINE | The disappearance and murders of Libby & Abby
Even so, that hasn't kept the people from drawing connections between Nations and suspect in Libby and Abby's murder and finding ways to connect him to the case online. Multiple groups dedicated to the search for the girls' killer have dissected Nations' past and present to try to determine if his arrest could really be the break investigators have been waiting for.
One thing is certain - Nations was in Indiana for most of this year and he has an extensive criminal background. His location was fairly easy to track until he went off the radar at the end of July.
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We’ve put together a rough timeline of some of the major events that show Daniel Nations’ whereabouts over the last couple of years and how they compare with the investigation to find Libby and Abby's murderer.
2015
- July: Daniel Nations was arrested after deputies say he hid in the stall of a women’s restroom at a Ricker’s gas station on U.S. 31 and was caught peeping and pleasuring himself. Court documents show he made bail for those charges but skipped his court appearance. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
- December: Daniel Nations was sentenced to several weeks in jail on a domestic violence charge in Morgan County. He served his sentence from December 15, 2015, through January 27, 2016.
2016
- August: Daniel Nations was arrested for driving on a suspended license in Hendricks County.
- November: Daniel Nations was charged with possession of marijuana.
- December: Daniel Nations’ landlord filed an eviction petition in Wayne Township small claims court.
2017
- January: Daniel Nations registers as a homeless sex offender living in Morgan County, Indiana. He told them he was living in Marion County at the Royal Inn. Because he is homeless, he is required by law to check in every 7 days and report where he is living.
- January 31: Daniel Nations checked in, in-person as part of his sex offender registry agreement.
- February 7: Daniel Nations checked in, in-person as part of his sex offender registry agreement.
- February 13: Liberty German and Abigail Williams were reported missing after they went for a hike near the Monon High Bridge and never showed up to be picked up.
- February 14: The bodies of Libby & Abby were found less than a mile from where they were first reported missing.
- February 14: Daniel Nations checked in, in-person as part of his sex offender registry agreement.
- February 15: Indiana state police released two grainy images of a man they say was taken from Liberty German’s cell phone during “criminal activity.”
- February 21: Daniel Nations checked in, in-person as part of his sex offender registry agreement.
- February 22: Indiana State Police released an audio clip they said was taken from Liberty German’s cell phone during “criminal activity” on the day the girls were murdered. The clip featured a man’s voice saying “down the hill.”
- February 24 – 28: Daniel Nations was incarcerated in the Morgan County jail.
- February 28: Daniel Nations checked in, in-person as part of his sex offender registry agreement.
- March 6: Daniel Nations appeared in Morgan County court.
- March 7: Daniel Nations checked in, in-person as part of his sex offender registry agreement.
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- March 14: Daniel Nations checked in, in-person as part of his sex offender registry agreement.
- March 21: Daniel Nations checked in, in-person as part of his sex offender registry agreement.
- March 29: Daniel Nations appeared in Morgan County court.
- April 4: Daniel Nations checked in, in-person as part of his sex offender registry agreement.
- April 10: Daniel Nations registered as a sex offender living in Johnson County at the InTown Suites in Greenwood.
- April 25: Daniel Nations was pulled over by police in Greenwood while driving with a suspended license and carrying marijuana. He was placed in the Johnson County jail.
- July 17: Indiana State Police released a composite sketch of the suspected Delphi killer.
- July 18: Investigation begins into Daniel Nations’ whereabouts after he failed to register his new address as part of his sex offender registry agreement and hadn’t reported his location for two months. He also missed a court appearance in Greenwood that day. After this moment, the Johnson County sheriff’s office seeks an arrest warrant for Nations for failure to register as a sex or violent offender.
- September 25: Daniel Nations was arrested in Woodland Park, Colorado at People’s Bank in a red car with an expired Indiana license plate that matched the description of a person threatening hikers with a hatchet. Police found a hatchet and a .22 caliber rifle in the car. A vehicle which matches the Colorado description is similar to the one he was driving when he was pulled over in Greenwood.
- September 27: Johnson County Prosecutor’s office in Indiana filed a formal charge of Failure to register as a sex or violent offender against Daniel Nations.
- September 28: Daniel Nations appeared in Teller County Court for a child custody hearing. The El Paso County Sheriff also filed felony menacing and reckless endangerment charges against him that evening.
- September 28: Indiana State police were contacted by a sheriff’s department in Colorado about similarities in their case and the Delphi murders. Indiana State Police officially declared Nations a “person of interest” in the case.
- September 29: Indiana State Police sent detectives to Colorado to interview Daniel Nations and “collect evidence” to try to determine if he has any connection with the Delphi murders.
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