Delphi, Indiana, resident Richard Allen was found guilty on all charges on Monday in the double murders of best friends Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14.
The jury’s verdict came on the fourth day of deliberations in the high-profile case that shocked the nation.
Allen was stoic in court and did not react to the verdict, but his mother and wife sobbed.
Richard Allen, 50, was charged with the murders of Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14, in Delphi, Ind., in February 2017.
Indiana State Police
Allen was convicted of felony murder for the killing of Abigail Williams while attempting to commit kidnapping; felony murder for the killing of Liberty German while attempting to commit kidnapping; murder for knowingly killing Abigail Williams; and murder for knowingly killing Liberty German.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 20.
Residents bring signs to the Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi, Indiana, as they await a verdict in Richard Allen’s double murder trial.
Kristen McFann
Abby and Libby were killed on a local hiking trail on Feb. 13, 2017. The girls’ throats were slit and they were dumped in a wooded area near the trail. Their bodies were found the next day.
On the day of the murders, Libby posted a photo of Abby on Snapchat as they walked over the Monon High Bridge. After the girls crossed the bridge, they saw a man behind them, and Libby started a recording on her phone, according to prosecutor Nick McLeland.
Photos of Abby Williams, left, and Libby German, right, at police headquarters in Delphi, Indiana.
Lindsey Jacobson/ABC News, FILE
As police hunted for a culprit, they released a clip of the unknown suspect’s voice — a recording of him saying “down the hill” — which was recovered from Libby’s phone. Police also released a grainy image of the suspect on the trail: a man who became known as “bridge guy.”
Allen, who was arrested for murder in 2022, admitted to police he was on the trail that day, but he denied any involvement in the crime.
Flowers sit by a bridge near Delphi, Ind. where Liberty German and Abigail Williams were seen before they were reported missing by their families on Feb. 13, 2017.
Alex Perez/ABC News, Files
Allen’s multiple confessions while in jail and his mental health at the time became a major focus of the trial.
The defense argues Allen was in a psychotic state when he made numerous confessions to corrections officers, his wife and a psychologist.
The prosecution’s key evidence is police analysis of Allen’s gun, which determined that a .40-caliber unspent round discovered by the girls’ bodies was cycled through Allen’s Sig Sauer Model P226. But the defense rejects the accuracy of that testing, calling it an “apples to oranges” comparison, because the technician compared the initial round — which had been cycled, not fired — to a bullet fired from Allen’s gun.
No DNA was found at the site to tie Allen or anyone else to the crime scene, a forensic scientist testified.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Source: abc news
