Jury returns verdict in Richard Allen's 2017 double murder trial

A verdict has been reached in the trial of Richard Allen, the Indiana man accused of killing two middle school girls near a popular small-town trail seven years ago, Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR reports.

The jury's decision came Monday after a four-week trial in which Allen, 52, pleaded not guilty to murder in the Feb. 13, 2017, slayings of close friends Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14.

The couple had been on the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, north of Indianapolis, when prosecutors said Allen used “force and fear” to force them down a hill and cut their throats.

During his closing argument Thursday, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland identified Allen as “the bridge man” – a man seen in a Snapchat video on a then-abandoned bridge along the trail.

The video was recorded on Liberty's cellphone on the day of her death and was later released by authorities to identify the man.

“Everything is clear now,” McLeland said, according to WTHR. “Richard Allen is the 'bridge guy.' He kidnapped her and later murdered her. He cut their throats. He stole Abby and Libby’s youth and lives.”

Defense attorney Brad Rozzi disputed that conclusion, saying witnesses who said they saw “the bridge man” gave physical descriptions that didn't match Allen, the station reported.

According to the station, Rozzi also called Allen's repeated murder confessions “false.”

During an interview with authorities before his arrest in 2022, Allen admitted he was on the trail the day the girls died, but repeatedly denied killing them.

After his arrest, Allen was held in solitary confinement at a maximum security prison while he awaited trial. Rozzi attributed the confessions to a psychological crisis.

“When the dust settled, he stayed there for 13 months,” Rozzi said, according to WTHR. “How much can one person endure?”

In addition to the Snapchat video and witness statements, prosecutors pointed to an unspent .40 cartridge found near the girls' bodies that authorities said came from Allen's gun.

The defense called the markings on the cartridge “insufficient” to link the bullet to Allen's gun. During his closing argument, Rozzi called the cartridge “a silver bullet,” WTHR reported.

Allen, a former CVS clerk, was not a suspect in the case until a filing clerk organizing thousands of tips in the case discovered a mislabeled “tip sheet” in September 2022.

The document, which was incorrectly labeled “clear,” revealed that Allen had contacted investigators days after the murders and said he had been at the same location as the girls on the day they disappeared.

Authorities announced Allen's arrest on October 31, 2022, weeks after the discovery.