In February 2021, former Carroll County Prosecutor Robert Ives appeared on The Dr. Oz Show to discuss the Delphi Murders. Though the interview was brief, Ives again mentioned the “three or four signatures” left by the killer and described the crime scene as “very unusual”.
Below is the video of the show, as well as a transcript of Robert Ives’ interview.
[Begin Robert Ives Dr. Oz Show Transcript]
DR. OZ: Let me bring in Robert Ives who was the Chief Prosecutor in Carroll County, Indiana at the time of these murders, and who can shed a little light in how unique this crime scene was. Thank you for being here, sir. The girls’ cause of death is still protected, which I understand, but what can you tell us about the actual crime scene, with what you’re allowed to share? Could this have been the work of a serial killer?
ROBERT IVES: Well, I think like most people because the trail is not well known… it’s not a big tourist spot, and because the bridge itself is something you wouldn’t cross unless you were familiar with the area. The bridge was abandoned 30 years ago, and when you see the person walking across with his head down, it’s because it’s not safe to cross that bridge. The bridge was not part of the trail. The trail terminated at the bridge. And so most people I believe, and most people law enforcement thought “It must be a local person” because why would anybody be there? Why would you be familiar with that trail? But on the other hand, the crime is so… it’s impossible to think of a motivation for the crime. Generally [in the past] when you have a murder in rural Indiana, this is Carroll County, the motive was obvious, the suspect was obvious. And in this case the two girls were murdered, and as I’ve told people the crime scene is very unusual. It’s all very strange. And so while we certainly thought in the early days it would be solved in two or three days, now I have to wonder if it wasn’t a semi-random crime of the sort that we occasionally have had in this country, where a person had an opportunity and they committed these murders. But still, it doesn’t make any sense for them to be there just outside of Delphi, Indiana.
DR. OZ: So without giving out details that would compromise the investigation, you said there’s some unique physical aspects to the scene?
ROBERT IVES: As this four-year anniversary has come up and some people have wanted to talk to me about it, it has made me think about something I’ve been concerned about. Besides the fact of the video and the audio–which is amazing evidence to have from a crime scene— as I’ve told people if you arrived at this crime scene where the girls’ bodies were found, there were three or four physical characteristics at the crime scene that you would absolutely take pictures of. Now, law enforcement has good reasons why they don’t want to release information. I am not involved in the investigation in any way. I just… I hope the people who are handling the investigation will consider whether perhaps it might be time to release some more of that information, so connections to other crimes in other places— or, if someone’s ever spoken to the perpetrator of this crime, perhaps it would give them a clue that they had learned something from the perpetrator.
DR OZ: So just so I could connect these dots a little bit, if another crime scene had some of these unique characteristics that are worth photographing, could you connect that to potentially think that is the work of a serial killer?
ROBERT IVES: Well, I think so? I’m no expert on serial killers, but I can tell you in the early days of this investigation of course, law enforcement— the FBI, the Indiana State Police, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office— were looking for crimes in other locations that might have similar characteristics. But of course, the public doesn’t know some of these similar characteristics, and even then the characteristics they were looking for tended to be more general things than the items I’m talking about. And I’m not certain of the exact significance of these things, but they are very unusual.
DR OZ: As a former prosecutor, are you confident this case will be solved? That’s the real question our audience has.
ROBERT IVES: “Confidence” is a difficult word. People ask me do I think it will be solved, and I think it will be, but I can’t give you strong reasons for that. I’m hopeful, you know? When people commit a horrifying crime, they feel compelled to confess. They feel compelled to brag. I can’t help but think that the person who committed these crimes will talk to somebody at some point, or someone will realize “Gosh, this person said something to me that makes me nervous, concerned about this.” If it’s someone you care about you’ll think of all sorts of rationalizations to not believe they committed a terrible crime, but we know terrible crimes get committed, so I think that’s a possibility. And in addition, I don’t hope for this, but there’s always the possibility that someone will be caught committing another crime as serial killers have sometimes been caught in this country and will confess to this crime here in Delphi, Indiana.
DR OZ: Well Godspeed to you and all the things you’re doing now. I appreciate you sharing insights on a case that has riveted the nation. I appreciate it.
ROBERT IVES: Thank you for having me on.
[Begin Robert Ives Dr. Oz Show Transcript]
