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Richard Allen Set to Face Trial for 2017 Delphi Murders: What to Know About the Case
Liberty German's quick thinking to record the man believed to be her and Abigail Williams' killer helped thrust the double murder case into the national spotlight.
The trial is underway for double-murder suspect Richard Allen, the 52-year-old Indiana man who allegedly confessed on multiple occasions to killing teen friends Abigail “Abby” Williams, 13, and Liberty “Libby” German, 14, in a case infamously known as the Delphi murders.
The 2017 homicides went unsolved for years and included several suspects and countless leads until the shocking 2022 arrest of the CVS employee. Since then, it’s been a dizzying back-and-forth between Allen and the courts, including the defense’s alternative theory that Paganists murdered the girls in ritualistic fashion — a theory that Special Judge Fran Gull decided on September 4, 2024 would not be introduced in the trial, according to Indianapolis Fox affiliate WXIN.
With jury selection beginning Monday, October 14, 2024, in Carroll County — another decision resulting from one of Allen’s many motions — here’s what to know about the case.
What happened to Libby German and Abby Williams?
On the afternoon of February 13, 2017, the middle-school friends went for a hike on Indiana’s historic Delphi trails, about 70 miles north of the state’s capital, during a day off of school. The following day, on Valentine’s Day, the girls’ bodies were discovered less than half a mile from the derelict Monon High Bridge, as reported by Oxygen.com.
Invested parties long warred over the release of public records, but when a probable cause affidavit was publicly disclosed in November 2022, it stated an unspent .40 caliber shell casing was found near the bodies.
However, Williams and German’s cause of death was not officially stated.
Court documents obtained by Indianapolis’s WISH-TV, part of The CW Network, noted that a postmortem examination stated the victims were killed with “wounds caused by a sharp object.”
Attorneys Andrew Baldwin of The Criminal Defense Team and Brad Rozzi, defending Richard Allen, stated in September 2023 court documents that the girls were killed by white nationalists in a “ritualistic” sacrifice, suggesting that the positions of the bodies and items found at the crime scene — such as letters made of blood and sticks — were committed by Odinists, a neo-Pagan movement revering the Norse god, Odin, and reportedly growing more common within the state’s prisons, as previously reported.
However, Carroll County prosecutor Nicholas McLeland called the notion “a fanciful defense for social media to devour,” per WXIN.
Libby German's Cellphone Footage
The horrific tragedy gained widespread media attention, in part, because a video clip from Libby German’s phone, as published by the F.B.I., showed the man believed to be her and Williams' killer on the Monon High Bridge as he told them, “Guys, down the hill.”
The probable cause affidavit connected with Allen’s arrest would state the video recording took place at 2:13 p.m., less than half an hour after a family member dropped the girls off. The document noted the suspect allegedly used the word “gun.”
Indiana State Police (I.S.P.) Sgt. Tony Slocum cited German’s quick thinking for helping investigators have something to go on, according to ABC affiliate WRTV.
“That young lady is a hero, that is no doubt,” Slocum said. “To have enough presence of mind to activate the video system on her cell phone to record what we believe is criminal behavior is about to occur, there is no doubt in our mind that she is a hero.”
Were there any significant leads in the Delphi murders?
Yes, the Delphi murders saw many leads and developments over the years, including several composite sketches released within the first few days of the murders. By 2022 — around the time of Allen’s arrest — investigators had to work with over 50,000 tips, according to WRTV, and that number has only grown since.
The case especially gained momentum in December 2021, when I.S.P. officials appealed for information related to someone they believed to be posing as a male model on social media and using the name “anthony_shots,” as previously reported by Oxygen.com. The development came as part of an ”extremely complicated” line of inquiry that led to then-27-year-old catfish and accused child predator Kegan Kline of Kokomo, Indiana, about 30 miles east of Delphi.
Kline admitted to impersonating the model, and though he was later sentenced to 43 years in prison for dozens of child sex crimes, he has never been charged in connection with the Delphi murders. However, prosecutors say Kline — using his fake account — had some level of online contact with German shortly before the girls' deaths, said authorities.
Kline is due to appear in the upcoming murder trial, according to WXIN.
Richard Allen's 2022 Arrest
The October 2022 arrest of former pharmacy technician Richard Allen was a curveball to those following the story.
According to the affidavit, officials questioned Allen back in 2017, and Allen confessed to being on the Delphi trails between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on the same day the girls disappeared. Some time later in the investigation, police “encountered” Allen’s statements while “reviewing prior tips.”
Shortly before his arrest, Allen admitted to wearing clothes — including a Carhartt jacket and blue jeans — that matched those of the man captured on German’s phone video. Allen said he was on the Monon High Bridge “to watch the fish.”
A later search of Allen’s residence, which he shared with his wife, provided detectives with a .40 caliber pistol, which would later match to the unspent casing found between the girls’ bodies, as stated in the affidavit.
In December 2022, Judge Fran Gull instated a gag order given the “highly publicized” nature of the case, soon after Baldwin and Rozzi gave a press statement on behalf of their client, claiming Allen “had nothing to hide,” as previously reported by Oxygen.com.
“Rick is a 50-year-old man who has never been arrested nor accused of any crime in his entire life,” the attorneys stated. “He is innocent and completely confused as to why he has been charged with these crimes.”
However, on June 28, 2023, 137 newly unsealed documents — a majority of what was previously sealed — became available when Judge Gull lifted the aforementioned gag order. In an April 20, 2023 record, prosecutors accused Allen of confessing from behind bars “no less than five times” in phone calls with his wife and mother. He also allegedly admitted to killing the girls in statements made to other inmates and prison personnel, according to NBC News.
His attorneys stated in a separate document that Allen “appeared to be suffering from various psychotic symptoms which counsel would describe as schizophrenic and delusional,” per the national outlet.
A three-day jury selection process began on Monday, October 14, 2024 at the Carroll County courthouse, per WRTV. Following the defense’s motions for a change of venue, jurors will be bussed in from Allen County.
No cameras or electronic devices will be allowed inside the courtroom.
