On February 13, 2017, Liberty “Libby” German and Abigail “Abby” Williams went missing after going on a hike. The teens were dropped off near Monon High Bridge, an abandoned railroad, in Delphi, Indiana. Libby posted a photo on Snapchat of Abby walking on the bridge alone, per People Magazine.
That afternoon, a family member arrived to pick up the girls but they never showed up. Their bodies were later found close-by to the area where they were last seen. Police used digital evidence, including two photos and an audio recording, to find a potential killer. They eventually linked Richard Allen to the double homicide five years later.
Allen has also allegedly confessed to the Delphi murders in a jailhouse phone call with his wife earlier this year. However, the accused pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.
Delphi murders suspect: How was Richard Allen linked to the case?
Now charged with the Delphi murders of Liberty “Libby” German and Abigail “Abby” Williams, police arrested Richard Allen in October 2022. He faces murder charges stemming from the 2017 double homicide of the girls. Their bodies were found a day after they went missing near the Delphi Historic Trails during a hike. The location was a wooded area not far from where a family member dropped them off on February 13.
A CNN report confirmed that Allen’s arrest came after a one-and-a-half-year-long nationwide search for a suspect. Evidence, including a .40 caliber unspent bullet, led investigators to Allen. They found the unspent round near the victims’ bodies and believed that the man forced the girls down a hill and to the location. There, he murdered them both.
The outlet also stated that earlier this year on April 3, Allen called his wife, Kathy, from prison. In that phone call, Richard M. Allen allegedly admitted to killing Abby and Libby. “Investigators had the phone call transcribed. He admits several times within the phone call that he committed the offenses as charged,” reads a court document.
The People magazine report stated that Allen previously told police he was in the area watching fish that same afternoon. Abby even posted a photo on Snapchat while walking across the abandoned railroad bridge moments before the killings.
Moreover, investigators released a grainy image of a man wearing a blue jacket and jeans following the girls on the bridge. They also found a recording of a man’s voice in the victim’s phone. Authorities have long suspected this man to be the killer.
The outlet stated that investigators claimed the killer used “a sharp object” to cause the girls’ injuries. Police also seized nearly a dozen knives – some double-edged or folding – while searching Allen’s home. They also found a .40 caliber pistol at his Delphi home during an October 2022 search.
According to IndyStar, Richard Allen is now in custody at the Westville Correctional Facility in Indiana. He will stand trial in October 2024. The defense counsel said, “It will be impossible for counsel to be ready for trial in January 2024.”
