IN v. Richard Allen: Delphi murder trial

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Court TV) – An Indiana man faces up to 130 years in prison if convicted of killing two teenagers while they were hiking just outside Delphi.

Richard Allen, 52, is accused of murdering 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German on February 13, 2017.

Prosecutors allege Allen acted alone when he kidnapped the girls from the abandoned railroad bridge called the Monon High Bridge. A key piece of evidence in the case is a cell phone video taken by Libby that shows a man approaching the girls on the bridge and ordering them to go “down the hill.” The next day, searchers found their bodies about a quarter-mile away on private property.

The case attracted national attention for years but remained cold until October 2022, when authorities announced this arrested Allen, a pharmacy technician who lived and worked in Delphi.

Since Allen's arrest, the case has taken several twists and turns, as evidence was leaked, Allen's public defender withdrew and was later rehired, and defense filings alleged that Odinists were responsible for the girls' murder. Special Judge Fran Gull has ruled that Allen's defense cannot present evidence at trial that the murders were committed by a third party.

Judge Gull banned cameras from the courtroom during Allen's trial. Reporters are also prohibited from bringing electronic devices into the courthouse.

DAILY TEST HIGHLIGHTS

DAY 4 – 10/22/24

• ISP CSI Brian Olehy, the lead CSI at the crime scene, continued his testimony, detailing the evidence collected at the crime scene and items collected at the autopsy
  • Sexual assault examinations were conducted on both girls at autopsy
  • Under cross-examination, Olehy said that “no specific photographs” were taken of the ground after the .40-caliber cartridge was removed. He said no photos were taken of the cartridge itself after it was removed.
  • Defense attorney Bradley Rozzi presented the swabs to Olehy and asked whether the information on them was related to Allen. Olehy said, “No.”
• Lt. Brian Bunner, a digital forensics expert, testified about his role in investigating the information collected from Libby's phone.
  • Lt. Bunner said the timeline report shows a video. It was a video recorded at 2:13 p.m. on February 13, 2017, the day Abby and Libby were last seen alive.
  • The video, only 35 to 40 seconds long, was shown once on a large television monitor in the courtroom.
  • The video shows Libby filming herself and Abby on the Delphi High Bridge. At some point the camera points up and you see that there is no one behind Abby.
  • However, in a later shot you can see a man walking behind her. This man was called “The Bridge Man.”
  • A girl's voice could be heard on the video, and when Libby's mother heard the voice (presumably her daughter), she started crying and became very emotional.
  • The young lady was talking as she walked along the end of the bridge.
  • Reporters in court heard the voice saying: “There is no way. The path ends here, so we have to go down here?”
  • Several reporters said the tone of the comment sounded like a question.
  • Shortly after the girl's voice faded, reporters in court said they heard a voice believed to be a man, but it was unclear what was said.
  • The video from the bridge was not enhanced and was only played once for the jury to see and hear.
  • In the video behind Abby, several screenshots of the man could be seen. They were shown to the jury.
• REGARD: Delphi murders: Video recorded on victim's phone played in court
• Jeremey Chapman, an AV engineer for ISP who was responsible for improving the phone's audio and video quality, commented.
  • Judge Gull allowed the extended version of the video to be played in court Tuesday afternoon. It was about 45 seconds long. They played the video in its entirety a second time.
  • In the video, the girls can be heard saying: “See, this is the way. There is no way. We have to get down here?” Shortly afterwards, a man's voice says: “Guys, down the hill.”
  • Chapman said he took three stills of “Bridge Guy.” He cleaned this up by adjusting the contrast and brightness of the images. He also used blur and filters to enhance the photos.
• Railly Voorhies testified that on February 13, 2017, she was walking along the trail with her sisters and a friend, taking photos near the Monon High Bridge.
  • Voorhies showed the jury on a map the route she took to the bridge. This path ran opposite the Freedom Bridge and opposite the Monon High Bridge.
  • As she walked along the path to go home, she said she didn't see anyone on the way past the Liberty Bridge. However, she said she passed a man near the Liberty Bridge who didn't wave at her and “didn't seem to be a happy person.”
  • The state showed a photo of the “Bridge Guy” and Voorhies said, “That was the man I waved to on the trail.”
• Two other witnesses said they were on the trail that day and saw “Bridge Guy.”
• READ MORE: Examining the physical evidence recovered from the crime scene was a focus of Day 4

DAY 3 – 10/21/24

• Carroll County Deputy Darron Giancola, one of the first law enforcement officers on the scene, testified about the crime scene where the girls' bodies were found.
  • Giancola said he did not see their bodies as he walked south from the cemetery to the creek, but saw a multi-colored shirt and a Nike shoe in the creek when he was called to the scene.
  • Giancola said Libby's body was unclothed while Abby was clothed. Giancola recalled seeing a significant amount of blood on their bodies and on the ground.
• Abby's clothes and shoes appeared to be damp, probably from crossing the stream. Abby's body was found to be wearing Libby's jeans and sweatshirt, while Abby's clothing and Libby's t-shirt were found upside down in the creek.
• Sergeant. Jason Page, an Indiana State Police crime scene investigator, walked the jury through 44 images.
  • REGARD: Witnesses describe the scene of the Delphi murders in the trial of Richard Allen
  • Branches were found on the girls' bodies. A large branch appeared over Libby's torso.
  • During a heated cross-examination between defense attorneys Brad Rozzi and Jason Page, Rozzi asked several questions about the unspent bullet.
  • Rozzi asked why more photos weren't taken of the bullet on the ground and why there aren't any pictures of the bullet while it was being removed from the ground and after it was removed from the scene.
  • Attorneys asked several questions about the sticks and branches found on and around the girls' bodies during Monday's sessions.
  • Photos of Libby's body, the sticks found in the area and the blood were shown in court. The defense asked investigators whether they thought the sticks could have been placed there by someone. Page said: “It was reasonable to assume that it was placed there by some human act.”
• ISP CSI Duane Datzman testified that he was the CSI who discovered the bullet found between the girls' bodies.
  • Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin tried to emphasize the defense's interest in the bullet at the crime scene. They argue that they believe more photos should have been taken of the bullet found at the crime scene.
  • The sticks and branches that lay on the girls were not collected at that time, even though some had blood on them. They were not considered conclusive and were therefore left in place.
  • On March 10, 2017, Datzman was asked to pick her up. He relied on memories and photos to ensure he grabbed the right branch, branches and twigs.
• ISP CSI Brian Olehy, the lead CSI at the scene, testified about documentation and evidence collection

DAY 2 – 10/19/24

• Former Delphi Police Chief Steven Mullin testified about the search for Abby and Libby when they were first reported missing.
  • Mullin said the original assumption was that the girls may have fallen from the bridge and been injured
  • On February 14, 2017, authorities received a call at 12:15 p.m. from Pat Brown who said he had found two bodies south of Morning Heights Cemetery.
  • The jury saw a drone video – shot at approximately adult size – that showed the view of a person walking from the Freedom Bridge to the other end of the Monon High Bridge (the video was taken on February 13, 2024).
• Jake Johns of Delphi, who took part in the search, said he found a tie-dye shirt in the creek and alerted a firefighter. John's colleague called Pat Brown, who he knew lived on the north side of the creek, and asked him to run down from the cemetery to investigate, which led to the discovery of the girls' bodies.
• Delphi resident Pat Brown, who found the girls' bodies, said that upon first contact he believed the bodies were mannequins.

DAY 1 – 10/18/24

• A jury of eight women and four men heard opening statements in the trial of Richard Allen.
• Carrol County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland delivered opening arguments for the state in about 15 minutes.
  • McLeland told the jury: “This case is about three things: BG (Bridge Guy), a bullet and a brutal murder of two girls.”
  • The prosecutor said Allen forced the girls down the hill with a gun before killing them. “His intention was to get through to them but was interrupted,” McLeland said, and that Allen left a clue…a bullet.
  • McLeland told jurors they would hear Allen go to the bridge and, unprompted and unprovoked, admit to the crime. “You will hear Richard Allen in his own words telling his wife, his mother… (and others) that he did it, how he did it and why he did it,” he said.
• In Allen's defense attorney's hour-long opening statement, Andrew Baldwin said Allen confessed to a crime he did not commit after suffering trauma from the investigation and incarceration. “Richard Allen is an innocent man, Baldwin said, and the evidence will prove it.
  • Baldwin said the girls were not shot, but instead insisted their throats were slit.
  • Richard Allen confessed to shooting the girls in the back, but they were not shot, Baldwin said. “Richard Allen confessed to a crime he did not commit.”
  • Richard Allen said he killed his family and grandchildren, Baldwin said. He has no grandchildren and his family was not killed.”
  • Richard Allen is said to have confessed to raping her and burying her in a shallow grave, which the defense also said never happened.
  • Baldwin said hair that did not belong to Richard Allen was found in Abby's hand.
• REGARD: Delphi Murders: Jury hears opening statement in Richard Allen trial
• READ MORE: Prosecutor: Video, unused bullet proves man's guilt in Delphi murders