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Abigail Williams and Liberty German's Final Moments Detailed in Delphi Murders Trial
New details, including text messages and eyewitness testimony, continue to be revealed as Richard Allen stands trial in the murders of middle schoolers Abigail Williams and Liberty German.
New details about the 2017 murders of teen friends Liberty "Libby" German, 14, and Abigail "Abby" Williams, 13, are coming to light as the trial of Richard Allen continues.
The double murder case against the 52-year-old former pharmacy technician continues in the Carroll County Courthouse in Indiana, where Allen is accused of murdering the middle school students on February 13, 2017. That day, the girls opted to spend their day off school walking the historic Delphi Trails, about 70 miles north of Indianapolis, before they ultimately went missing.
Their bodies were found the next day, less than one mile from the Monon High Bridge, where German’s phone captured the suspect walking and saying, “Guys, down the hill,” as widely publicized nationwide.
The full 43-second clip, never released to the public, was shown to jurors on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, as reported by Oxygen.com.
Jury selection began on Oct. 14, 2024, and new details about the murders — much of which was previously concealed from the public — continue to be revealed in trial.
Here’s what we know:
Abigail Williams and Liberty German's Cause of Death
Although an unspent .40 caliber casing found at the crime scene connected Allen to the murders, semi-retired forensic pathologist Dr. Roland Kohr testified that both the girls died after their throats had been cut, according to The Indianapolis Star. His testimony matched what 2023 court documents — obtained by Indianapolis’s WISH-TV — revealed, noting the girls died of “wounds caused by a sharp object.”
Dr. Kohr, who’s performed more than 7,700 postmortem examinations during his extensive career, performed both the girls' autopsies, and testified that Williams sustained a fatal, two-inch laceration that wounded the teen’s jugular.
German, on the other hand, suffered no less than four overlapping cuts to the neck, two of which would have proven deadly, per the Indianapolis Star.
On the second day of testimony, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland said German was discovered nude and that Williams was found wearing German’s clothes, according to Fox Indianapolis affiliate WXIN. On the fourth day, Indiana State Police (I.S.P.) crime scene investigator Brian Olehy testified that one could make the “logical assumption” that German “was disrobed.”
However, Dr. Kohr said there was no apparent evidence that either girl had been sexually assaulted. He added that “no trauma was left,” suggesting that such an assault could have taken place, but that they didn’t have evidence to prove it, according to the Indianapolis Star.
Furthermore, Dr. Kohr stated that blood found on German’s hands suggested German possibly reached for her throat after the injuries were inflicted. He opined that both girls survived approximately four to 10 minutes after the fatal cuts, though both would have likely lost consciousness before succumbing to the injuries.
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The Evidence Taken from Libby German’s Phone
Libby German’s iPhone, which infamously captured the girls’ suspected killer as he purportedly followed them on Monon High Bridge shortly before their deaths, has become a crucial piece of evidence in the ongoing murder trial.
I.S.P. Sgt. Christopher Cecil confirmed on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024 that German’s phone received no incoming SMS messages between 4:06 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017, and 4:33 a.m. on Feb. 14, 2017. The phone did receive iMessages, meaning messages that came through via an internet connection as opposed to cellular service, according to the Indianapolis Star.
Fifteen SMS messages reached German’s phone at 4:33 a.m., indicating the phone gained enough signal to receive previously sent messages. Cecil said there was nothing to suggest the phone had been turned off.
Per the Indianapolis outlet, on Feb 13, 2017, German placed a call to her father to confirm a pick-up time later that day. Minutes later, at 1:41 p.m., German took multiple selfie snaps, which showed Williams in the background.
German posted a photo of the bridge at 2:05 p.m., before “a video was recorded” of the murder suspect on the bridge at 2:13 p.m., Cecil told the court. According to the Indianapolis Star, jurors saw the full video of the man following Williams.
An Apple Health app recorded the phone’s final movements at 2:32 p.m.
That was where the phone allegedly stopped and remained at Deer Creek, where the girls were later found dead, according to ABC Chicago affiliate WLS-TV. Investigators said German’s phone was discovered underneath Williams’ body.
At 4:06 p.m., a text from German’s grandmother, Becky Patty, stated, “You need to call me now,” followed by several exclamation points.
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The Defense's Odinism Theory
Attorneys Andrew Baldwin of The Criminal Defense Team and Brad Rozzi have maintained that Williams and German were killed as part of a neo-Pagan sacrifice, pointing away from their client as the possible culprit, as reported by Oxygen.com. They claim Odinists — those who revere the Norse god, Odin — reportedly killed the girls, positioned their bodies, and made symbols with sticks in ritualistic fashion.
On September 4, 2024, Special Judge Fran Gull blocked the alternate theory from being introduced at the trial. However, on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, citing Allen’s constitutional rights, attorneys filed a motion so that they could bring in Odinism expert Dr. Dawn Perlmutter to take the stand, according to the ABC affiliate.
The new motion came one day after investigator Olehy said someone used sticks as an “attempt at concealment.”
In Wednesday’s filing, defense attorneys claimed, “the sticks on the girls appear to be arranged in a pattern/arrangement or (at a minimum), using a person’s own eyeballs, common sense, logic, and reason, could cause a reasonable person to believe that the sticks were formed into some pattern/arrangement and weren’t being used to conceal the bodies," according to NBC Indianapolis affiliate WTHR.
Experts state Odinism is a focus for white supremacist gangs inside Indiana’s prisons, though County Prosecutor previously referred to the defense’s theory as “a fanciful defense for social media to devour,” per WXIN.
The judge has yet to rule on the recent motion.
