Richard Allen, the man found guilty in 2017 of murdering two teenage girls who had disappeared in Delphi, Indiana, has been sentenced to 130 years in prison. The sentence comprises 65 years for each death, with credit given for the 760 days he has already served since his arrest. An Indiana jury convicted Allen in November for the killings of 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German and 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams, who went missing during a hike in Delphi in 2017. The jury, consisting of seven women and five men, deliberated for about 19 hours over three days before reaching a guilty verdict on all counts. The sentencing process lasted less than an hour.
Following Allen’s sentencing, the families of Libby and Abigail, along with the police, addressed the public after the gag order in the case was lifted, allowing them to speak publicly for the first time since 2017. The families expressed gratitude to the jurors for the maximum sentence, with Libby’s grandfather, Mike Patty, thanking the community for their support and the investigative team for their efforts over nearly eight years in seeking justice. Sheriff Tony Liggett acknowledged that while some form of justice had been served, it could not bring back Abby and Libby, emphasizing that they did not deserve what had happened.
Superintendent Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police thanked the victims’ families and the Delphi community, stating that the verdict marked a new beginning for the area and urging healing. The case involved an extensive investigation, starting from the girls’ disappearance in February 2017, with their bodies later found with throat lacerations about a mile from where they were last seen. Police pursued numerous leads and released composite sketches of the suspect, eventually making the breakthrough in Allen’s arrest in 2022.
Allen, who had been living in Delphi and working at a local CVS pharmacy, was identified as a suspect when a clerk linked him to the crime scene in September 2022. His connection to the area was further established when he revealed being near the trail where the girls were killed, though he claimed to have only seen them from a distance. Subsequent investigations led to his arrest after police matched a cartridge found near the victims to a gun seized from his residence. Charged with two counts of murder and later facing additional charges, Allen maintained his innocence throughout the trial, which shed light on the long and arduous path to justice in this tragic case.
Allen’s myriad confessions while behind bars were a focal point of the prosecution’s case. It was alleged that he admitted to the crime on over 60 occasions, purportedly confessing to a wide array of individuals including his wife, mother, the attending psychologist, the prison warden, as well as various staff members and fellow inmates. To bolster their argument, the prosecution even presented audio recordings of some of these confessions to the jury. However, the defense raised doubts regarding the validity of these confessions, contending that they were extracted involuntarily and pointing to Allen’s mental health struggles at the time.
Monica Wala, the former chief psychologist at Westville Correctional Facility where Allen was held, took the stand to provide crucial testimony. She disclosed that initially, Allen maintained his innocence, but a significant shift occurred in April 2023, coinciding with his return to suicide watch, when he started admitting to the crimes. According to her testimony as reported by WTHR, Allen allegedly confided in her, expressing remorse with the words, “I killed Abby and Libby. I’m sorry.” He purportedly divulged that his original intent was to carry out a sexual assault, but upon spotting a van nearby, he fled. Shockingly, he went on to describe how he then proceeded to cut the girls’ throats before concealing their lifeless bodies beneath sticks.
Adding another layer of complexity to the case, Allen’s legal team had previously posited a theory suggesting that the girls met their tragic fate as part of a pagan ritualistic sacrifice. Moreover, they leveled accusations against law enforcement, alleging that crucial evidence from the crime scene had been overlooked. Specifically, in a search warrant application dating back to March 2017, an FBI agent posited that the positioning of the victims’ bodies at the crime scene indicated possible tampering, suggesting they had been “moved and staged.” Notably, this particular theory was omitted from the jury’s consideration, following a ruling by the presiding judge.
In a pivotal development, Thompkins, Allen’s attorney, hinted at a potential avenue for appeal, hinting that the conviction could be overturned if it is determined that the jury was deprived of a comprehensive view of all pertinent evidence. The defense team retains the option to lodge an appeal within a 30-day window subsequent to the sentencing.
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