Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen has been found guilty by a jury in the gruesome murders of Indiana teens Abigail (Abby) Williams and Liberty (Libby) German. The two girls disappeared during a hike in Delphi in 2017.
Allen, 52, a former drugstore employee, was found guilty by the 12-person jury on two counts of murder and two counts of murder while committing kidnapping. He now faced up to 130 years behind bars. His sentencing is scheduled to take place on December 20.
Allen was seen standing emotionless as the verdict was read, according to New York Post. His wife, Kathy Allen, walked out of the courtroom, telling WTHR that this isn’t over at all.” Crowd cheered loudly outside the courthouse.
Prosecutors claimed during the trial that on February 13, 2017, Allen murdered Abby, 13, and Libby, 14, by slitting their throats while they were hiking on the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, north of Indianapolis. Allen’s lawyers maintained that he was innocent, and claimed there is too much reasonable doubt for a jury to convict.
Who is Richard Allen?
Allen had no prior criminal records. However, jail records listhim as also going by the alias of Craigh Ross Rentfrow, according to The Independent.
{{/usCountry}}Allen had no prior criminal records. However, jail records listhim as also going by the alias of Craigh Ross Rentfrow, according to The Independent.
{{/usCountry}}Allen’s home, that he and his wife Kathy shared, was less than a five-minute drive away from where the two teenagers’ bodies were found. As per online records, this is where Allen has lived there since at least 2006. He lived in Indiana his entire adult life.
A trained pharmacy technician, Allen was working at a local CVS store at the time he was arrested. After his arrest, he reportedly confessed to killing the girls with a boxcutter.
Indiana State Police Detective Brian Harshman testified that the suspect mainly confessed the crime to his mother and wife over jailhouse phone calls, The Mirror reported. Indiana State Police Lt. Jerry Holeman testified that a fellow inmate revealed that Allen confessed to the crime and even revealed the murder weapon.
The Delphi murders
On the day of the murders, Abby and Libby weredropped off by Libby’s older sister, Kelsi German, on County Road 300 North, east of the Hoosier Heartland Highway. The two girls were hiking on the Monon High Bridge over Deer Creek, among woodland in remote Deer Creek Township. At 2:07 pm, Libby posted a picture of Abby walking along the bridge. This was the last time they were heard from.
After the two failed to meet Libby’s father, they were reported missing. Before contacting the cops, the families searched for the girls themselves, but to no avail. Their bodies were found around noon the next day on the north bank of Deer Creek. Allen was arrested in 2022 in connection to the brutal slayings.
After Allen was found guilty, Kelsi shared a photo of Abby and Libby on Instagram, captioning it, “Nearly 8 years, today was the day”.