December 21st 2024.
A man from Indiana has been sentenced to 130 years in prison for the brutal killings of two teenage girls who went missing during a winter hike in 2017. The case has caused a dark cloud to loom over the small town of Delphi, where the girls, Abigail Williams and Liberty German, were from.
Richard Allen, 52, was found guilty of the murders on November 11. The jury convicted him on two counts of murder and two counts of murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping. The judge in the case, Fran Gull, sentenced Allen to the maximum of 65 years for each count, to be served consecutively.
The sentencing hearing, which lasted less than two hours, included emotional impact statements from six relatives of the victims. After the hearing, Allen's defense attorney, Jennifer Auger, expressed condolences to the victims' families and announced plans to appeal for a new trial. She stated that today was not the day for a detailed statement.
The Associated Press reached out to Allen's attorneys for additional comments on his sentence and their plans for an appeal. Allen, who has always maintained his innocence, was facing a maximum of 130 years in prison for the killings of the two girls, who were found dead in February 2017 with their throats cut.
The trial, which lasted several weeks, was marked by delays, a leak of evidence, and the withdrawal and reinstatement of Allen's public defenders by the Indiana Supreme Court. The case has garnered widespread attention from true-crime enthusiasts due to its intriguing evidence.
At the end of the sentencing hearing, the judge lifted the gag order in the case, allowing police and prosecutors to hold a news conference. They thanked the investigators for their hard work, which ultimately led to Allen's arrest and conviction. Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett stated that justice has been served and singled out the work of a retired state government worker who volunteered to help organize tips for the investigation. She discovered crucial information that led to Allen's identification.
German's grandfather, Mike Patty, thanked the jury, investigators, prosecutors, and the judge for delivering justice for the girls. He spoke as a photo of German and Williams, smiling in their winter attire, was projected behind him.
The special judge, who oversaw Allen's trial, was from the same county as the jurors. They were sequestered throughout the trial, which took place in Delphi, the girls' hometown with a population of about 3000.
The trial faced multiple delays, a leak of evidence, and the withdrawal and reinstatement of Allen's public defenders by the Indiana Supreme Court. The case has garnered widespread attention from true-crime enthusiasts due to its intriguing evidence.
The girls were dropped off by a relative at a hiking trail near Delphi on February 13, 2017. When they didn't arrive at the agreed pickup location, they were reported missing. Their bodies were found the next day in a wooded area near an abandoned railroad trestle.
In his closing arguments, the prosecutor told the jury that Allen had forced the girls off the trail at gunpoint and planned to rape them. However, a passing van caused him to change his plans, and he ended up cutting their throats. He presented evidence that a bullet found near the bodies was from Allen's gun. He also stated that Allen can be heard in a video recorded by German, telling the girls to "go down the hill" after they crossed a bridge.
The defense argued that Allen's confessions were unreliable due to his mental health crisis while in solitary confinement. They also pointed out that no witness explicitly identified Allen as the man seen on the hiking trail or the bridge where the girls went missing. They also stated that there was no forensic evidence linking Allen to the crime scene.
After the verdict, Allen's defense attorney stated that they plan to appeal the decision and seek a new trial. As the case comes to a close, the town of Delphi and the families of Abby and Libby can finally find some closure and begin to heal from this tragic event.
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