Update on Delphi murders as jury reaches verdict

Richard Allen was found guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated murder in the slayings of two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana.

Allen, 52, could be sentenced to up to 130 years in prison for the February 2017 murders of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, on the Monon High Bridge Trail.

His sentencing date is set for December 20. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty for Allen.

Indiana State Police Sergeant John Perrine told reporters outside the courthouse that confidentiality in the case would remain in effect until Allen's sentencing, so the department could not make a public statement after Allen's conviction.

Indianapolis news station WTHR reported the verdict at around 2:45 p.m. local time on Monday.

A WTHR reporter filmed the victims' lawyers and family members walking back into the courthouse shortly before 1:30 p.m. local time on Monday.

Allen's wife, Kathy Allen, told WTHR, “This is far from over,” as she left the courtroom.

The outlet reports that prosecutors hugged each other as the verdict was read. Allen's legal team reportedly comforted him before he was handcuffed and taken back into custody.

No cameras or cell phones were allowed in the courtroom.

The jury of five men and seven women deliberated for about 18 hours over four days.

The jury was selected in Fort Wayne, 100 miles from the crime scene, to draw mass media attention to this case, which was picked up by true crime enthusiasts.

Prosecutors argued Allen was the “bridge man” captured at trial in a Snapchat video recovered from German's phone. The video included audio of a man saying, “Guys, down the hill.”

The next day, the teenagers' bodies were found at the bottom of the hill. They had been stabbed.

Prosecutors say an unspent bullet from a .40-caliber handgun, which was part of a gun owned by Allen, was found between the victims' bodies.

They said Allen confessed to the murders more than 60 times to prison guards, family members and friends after his arrest and in prison.

Allen's defense argued that his confessions were the result of a psychotic break. They said his confessions were unreliable and included inaccurate accounts of crimes and admissions to crimes that never happened, including the killing of his own family.

It took police five years to arrest Allen, who worked at a CVS Pharmacy in Delphi in 2022. The victims' families said Allen even helped them print photos for the funeral for free.

The process is estimated to cost the state over $4 million.

Update 11/24/24 3:16 PM ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

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