Who is Ashley Chadwell? Delphi murders suspect James Chadwell's brother says he is 'absolutely capable' of it
The brother of a man who is being probed over the unsolved murders of two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana, says he is "absolutely capable" of having committed the killings.
Last week, investigators revealed they were "looking into" James Chadwell II, 42, in connection with the deaths of youngsters Abigail 'Abby' Williams, 13, and Liberty 'Libby' German, 14, in 2017. However, Chadwell hasn't formally been named as a suspect in the unsolved murders.
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The teenagers disappeared on February 13 that year when they went hiking along the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi. Their bodies were discovered nearby the bridge the following day. Detectives have struggled to solve the case for four years, but they are now examining Chadwell after he was arrested over an unrelated crime in Indiana last month.
On April 19, Chadwell allegedly used his dogs as petting props and lured a 9-year-old girl into his home in Lafayette. He then took her down to his basement and proceeded to attack, strangle, and sexually assault her before the authorities rescued her. Investigators later realized that the attack had taken place just 20 miles away from where Williams and German were found dead four years ago.
Chadwell's family members spoke to Inside Edition about him. According to them, he is quite capable of having killed the teenage girls in 2017.
“Do I think that he's capable of that kind of crime? Absolutely, absolutely," his brother Ashley Chadwell told the program on Tuesday, claiming James had even tried to drown him when they were kids.
"He's shown numerous times not only to his friends, but his family as well that he has that kind of evil streak to him," Ashley stated. "He’s a monster. He’s an absolute evil person." Ashley said that his brother, who has been in and out of prison since he was a teenager, "should be locked up and never let loose again, because he’s a monster."
In fact, Chadwell's own stepfather told Inside Edition that his stepson could very well be responsible for the deaths of Abby and Libby. "Is he capable? Probably. And you know, should they let him back out on the street? Not ever. Throw away the key this time," he insisted.
Speaking to WRTV last week, local sheriff Tobe Leazenby said investigators were "looking into" Chadwell to find out if he had anything to do with the double murder. "The information has obviously been shared with us and our investigators are looking into him," Leazenby said.
The tragic deaths of Libby German and Abby Williams grabbed headlines four years ago. The two teenagers were dropped off at the Delphi Historic Trails to go on a hike before they were reported missing. A search was launched to locate the teens and their bodies were discovered the following day, February 14, 2017, in a secluded wooded area off the main trail. Authorities never released their cause of death.
That said, Chadwell remains in prison after being charged over the alleged kidnapping and assault last month.