After more than three days of discussions, a jury in Indiana has found Richard Allen guilty of murdering two teenage girls who disappeared while hiking in Delphi back in 2017.
The jury, made up of seven women and five men, spent about 19 hours over those three days before reaching their decision.
They determined that the 52-year-old Allen was responsible for the deaths of 14-year-old Liberty Libby German and 13-year-old Abigail Abby Williams. John Thompkins, an Indianapolis defense lawyer not involved in this case, expressed his surprise at the verdict.
He mentioned that he thought there were quite a few questionable pieces of evidence and significant gaps in the prosecution’s argument, leading him to believe a not guilty verdict was possible.
When the verdict was read out loud, Allen appeared very pale and wide-eyed, clutching his Bible. He didn’t show any immediate reaction but later turned to check on his family, seemingly asking them if they were alright.
His wife Kathy was visibly upset and seemed almost unable to stand after hearing the news. Sentencing is set for December 20th, where Allen could face up to 130 years behind bars.
The jury received the case after closing arguments wrapped up during what had been a lengthy trial.
Prosecutors pointed out that Allen was captured on grainy cellphone footage taken by one of the girls as they walked across an abandoned railroad bridge right before they went missing on February 13, 2017.
They also highlighted that Allen had confessed multiple times—both verbally and in writing—to being responsible for their deaths. In one recording, he told his wife directly: I did it. I killed Abby and Libby.
On the flip side, Allen’s defense team questioned these confessions; they brought forward witnesses including a psychologist who claimed that after months alone in solitary confinement, Allen was delirious and not fully aware of what he was saying at times.
They argued there wasn’t any physical evidence linking him to the murders either since no witness definitively identified him as being on that hiking trail or bridge when the girls disappeared.
Thompkins remarked that ultimately it came down to what Richard Allen himself said during those interviews—his statements would heavily influence whether jurors decided he was guilty or not guilty.
It’s worth mentioning that even five years after the tragic events unfolded, Allen continued living in Delphi while working at a local pharmacy.
Timeline of Events in the Delphi Murders Case
Abigail, 13, and Liberty, 14—better known as Abby and Libby—were really good friends. On February 13, 2017, a family member dropped them off at a hiking trail on the Monon High Bridge in Delphi.
When they didn’t show up to meet Libby’s dad later that day, people started to worry and reported them missing. Tragically, their bodies were found about a mile from where they were last seen, and prosecutors noted that they had suffered throat cuts.
For years, police worked tirelessly to find the person responsible. They chased thousands of leads and released several sketches based on what witnesses remembered.
There was even audio from Libby’s phone that captured an unidentified man telling the girls to go down the hill. Plus, Libby recorded a brief Snapchat video of someone whom police believed might be the killer.
Despite circulating this information just days after the incident, the investigation went cold for over five years until Richard Allen was arrested in 2022.
Allen lived in Delphi and worked at a CVS pharmacy nearby. In September 2022, a clerk involved in the case noticed something strange: Allen had put himself near where the girls were killed. Just days after their bodies were discovered, he told authorities he had been on that trail around when they went missing and claimed he saw three “females” by the bridge but hadn’t talked to them.
On October 13, 2022, police decided to interview Allen again after reviewing past suspects. They arrested him when they found an unspent bullet between Abby and Libby’s bodies that matched a gun found at his home during a search.
He was taken into custody on October 26 and charged with two counts of murder while allegedly trying to kidnap them; later on, prosecutors added two more murder charges as well. Allen has pleaded not guilty.
As the trial kicked off on October 18, prosecutors pointed out that Allen had confessed over sixty times while in jail—talking about it with everyone from his wife to prison staff and fellow inmates! They even played some recordings of those confessions for jurors to hear.
The defense team argued against these confessions; they claimed he made them under duress due to mental health issues at the time.
Monica Wala, who used to be head psychologist at Westville Correctional Facility where Allen was held, testified that initially he insisted he was innocent but started confessing around April 2023 when he was placed back on suicide watch.
So, WTHR reported that Wala shared in her testimony that Allen confessed to her, saying, I killed Abby and Libby. I’m sorry. She mentioned that his initial intention was to sexually assault them, but he fled when he noticed a van nearby.
According to her, he also admitted to cutting the girls’ throats and covering their bodies with sticks. Meanwhile, Allen’s defense team previously suggested that the girls might have been victims of a pagan ritual sacrifice and claimed that law enforcement overlooked some evidence at the crime scene.
Back in March 2017, an FBI agent even noted in a search warrant request that it looked like the girls’ bodies had been moved and staged.
However, the jury never got to hear about this theory because of a judge’s decision. Thompkins pointed out that if an appeal reveals the jury didn’t get enough evidence presented to them, Allen’s conviction could potentially be overturned.
Sentencing is coming up on December 20th, and Allen could face as much as 130 years behind bars. After sentencing, his defense has 30 days to file an appeal if they choose to do so.