Trial begins for suspect in 2017 Delphi murder of two teenage girls

A man accused of killing two teenage girls during a winter hike in 2017 is on trial in a case that haunts the town of Delphi, Indiana.

Richard Allen, 52, is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping in the killings of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14 years. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty and if convicted, Allen could face up to 130 years in prison.

Jury selection begins Monday in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Once selected, jurors are expected to be sequestered in Delphi, a town of about 3,000 about 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis, monitored by bailiffs and prohibited from using cellphones or viewing newspapers. television.

In October 2022, Allen, a pharmacy technician who lived and worked in Delphi, was arrested, almost six years after the girls’ murder.

A parent had dropped the eighth graders off at a hiking trail on February 13, 2017, but they did not show up until later that day. Their bodies were found the next day in a wooded area near the trail.

Police released files from Libby’s cellphone: two grainy photos and audio of a man saying “down the hill.”

In July 2017, investigators released sketches of the suspect and a brief video showing the suspect on an abandoned railroad bridge called the Monon High Bridge.

Allen, who was interviewed in 2017, said he was walking on the trail the day the girls disappeared and saw three “females” on another bridge. He was re-interviewed on October 13, 2022, after which police searched his home and seized a .40 caliber pistol. Tests determined that an unspent bullet found between the teens’ bodies “passed through” Allen’s gun.

The case faced repeated delays after evidence was leaked, Allen’s public defenders were removed and the Indiana Supreme Court reinstated them. The Delphi murders remain the subject of widespread speculation and theories among true crime enthusiasts.

Allen County Superior Court Judge Fran Gull issued a gag order in December 2022, prohibiting the parties from commenting on the case. She also banned access to cameras in the courtroom.

In August, Gull ruled that prosecutors could present evidence of incriminating statements Allen made in conversations with correctional officers, including a recording of a call with his wife in which he allegedly confessed to the killings.

Prosecutors have not revealed how Abby and Libby were killed, but a court filing by Allen’s attorneys says their throats were slit.

This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.