Abigail Williams,Liberty German Obituary, Death; – A former employee of a drugstore in the small Indiana town of Delphi was convicted of murder on Monday for the deaths of two teenage girls who disappeared during an afternoon hike.
Richard Allen was found guilty by jurors on two counts of murder, along with two additional counts of murder committed while attempting to kidnap, in connection with the 2017 deaths of 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German.
Allen’s arrest did not occur until five years later, despite significant media attention from true-crime followers. His trial experienced numerous delays, including a leak of evidence and the withdrawal and subsequent reinstatement of his public defenders by the Indiana Supreme Court.
Inside the courtroom, reporters noted that Allen, aged 52, displayed no visible reaction upon the announcement of the verdict, although he did glance back at his family at one moment. He is set to be sentenced on December 20, facing a potential maximum of 130 years in prison. As news of the verdict spread outside the courthouse, individuals on the sidewalk began to cheer.
Indiana State Police spokesperson Captain Ron Galaviz informed The Associated Press that the judge’s gag order remains in effect and is expected to continue until Allen’s sentencing. Allen’s legal team departed the courthouse on Monday without making any comments.
The case was overseen by a special judge, Superior Court Judge Fran Gull, who, along with the jurors, hailed from Allen County in northeastern Indiana. The jury, consisting of seven women and five men, was sequestered throughout the trial, which commenced on October 18 in Delphi, the hometown of the victims, a community of approximately 3,000 residents where Allen also resided and worked.
In his closing argument, Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland emphasized that Allen had confessed to the murders multiple times—verbally, over the phone, and in writing. He played a recording for the jury in which Allen could be heard admitting to his wife, “I did it. I killed Abby and Libby.”
McLeland further asserted that Allen is the individual captured in a grainy cell phone video recorded by one of the girls as they traversed an abandoned railroad.
