The jury passed their verdict on Monday, pronouncing Indiana resident Richard Allen, charged with the 2017 murder of two adolescent girls, guilty on all counts. The girls had mysteriously vanished during a mid-day hike nearby their hometown of Delphi. Aged 52, Allen confronted two murder felony counts and additional two counts for committing or intending to commit kidnapping during the murders of 13-year-old Abigail Williams, and 14-year-old Liberty German. The jury found him guilty across all four charges after an intense deliberation period exceeding 19 hours.
The jurors, seven women and five men, had been sequestered for almost 26 days. The sentencing hearing for Allen is scheduled for December 20th of this year. His charges stem from an odious crime—the murders of two teenagers in Delphi and an ensuing attempt at abduction. Richard Allen is staring down the barrel of a sentence that could span up to a century and three decades if deemed guilty of all charges.
A full retrospective of Richard Allen’s trial reveals significant details. Carroll County Prosecutor, Nicholas McLeland, offered compelling evidence, presenting a grainy video footage to the jurors that showed an unidentified man on an old, disused railway bridge. The two young victims, affectionately known as Abby and Libby, had crossed this bridge moments before their disappearance on February 13, 2017.
McLeland emphatically declared to the jurors, ‘Richard Allen is the Bridge Guy.’ This proclamation argues that Allen kidnapped Abby and Libby before proceeding to take their lives. McLeland pointed further to the fact that Allen had admitted his guilt numerous times: in person, over the phone, and in written acknowledgments of his vile acts.
Furthermore, the prosecutor played a recorded conversation in court that sent chills down everyone’s spine. On it, Allen can be heard admitting with his wife on the line, ‘I did it. I killed Abby and Libby.’ But despite the seemingly clear-cut confessions, Allen’s defense aimed to cast doubt on the veracity of these statements.
In support of Allen, the defense put forward witnesses to testify on his behalf, including a psychiatrist who deemed him to be delirious and psychotic following extended solitary confinement. They seemed to question the authenticity of Allen’s confession while presenting their case. The trial, scrutinized by a special judge, continued to bring enlightening facts into light.
McLeland, during his closing argument, shed light on an extremely vital piece of evidence: an unfired bullet, located between the bodies of the two victims. According to the prosecutor, an analysis revealed this bullet had cycled through Allen’s .40-caliber Sig Sauer—a statement that, if true, would connect Allen directly to the gruesome crime.
In response, Allen’s defense contested the state police analysis of the unfired bullet. They called upon a firearms expert who voiced concerns about the methodology of the analysis, dubbing the unfired bullet the ‘magic bullet’ and criticizing the investigators for making an ‘apples to oranges’ comparison —essentially stating that the bullet tied to Allen’s weapon had been unfairly examined.
Further, the prosecutor recollected an account given by a state trooper, who after listening over 700 phone calls made by Allen, confirmed that a voice on the teenage girls’ cellphone video post crossing the abandoned railway bridge was indeed Allen’s. According to the trooper testimony, Allen’s voice commanded the girls to move ‘down the hill’— a crucial piece of evidence that severely pinned down Allen to the scene.
The defense took their time countering the claims of the prosecutor. They challenged the proposed timeline of the crime with testimonies from several connoisseur witnesses, including a digital forensics specialist. This expert offered a theory that raised controversy within the courtroom, pointing to an auxiliary cable or headphones connected to one of the victims’ cellphones for almost five hours after the girls had gone missing.
This observation, offered up by the defense, actively questioned the investigators’ assumption that the girls lost their lives and were disposed of in the woods around 2:32 p.m. on that fateful day. The defense continued to challenge the prosecution by flagging inconsistencies in their story, ultimately raising doubts about the state’s narrative.
However, the prosecutors didn’t back down. They pointed the jurors towards Allen’s own incriminating statements. These included admissions that he not only made to his wife and mother but also to correctional officers, a prison psychologist, and even a former prison warden. According to the warden, Allen confessed that he used a box cutter to perform the murders and got rid of it later.
Allen’s defense strategized presenting these confessions as undependable, suggesting that he was undergoing a severe mental health turmoil while giving these statements. They highlighted the tremendous strain of being in solitary confinement, observed round-the-clock, and being ridiculed by fellow inmates compelled him to say these things.
Acknowledging these concerns, the defense insisted that his non-stop surveillance and the harsh living conditions played a role in his confessions. They argued these factors contributed to his mental breakdown, leading to unreliable confessions. It was the defense’s argument that these unique circumstances could have resulted in false admissions.
As the trial is nearing its end, with the sentencing scheduled soon, all eyes are on the court’s final decision. With the jury’s verdict of guilt on all charges, it looks like Allen may spend the rest of his life behind bars. However, to ensure that justice is served, both the defense and the prosecution will continue to share their contrasting narratives in this gruesome tale that shook the local community of Delphi.