Nearly eight years after the bodies of two middle school girls were discovered next to a hiking trail, Richard Allen, an Indiana man convicted of their murder in 2017, was sentenced to 130 years in prison on Friday.
Following a four-week trial, Allen, 52, was found guilty of murder in November for the deaths of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13.
The murders of the girls, who were close friends, remained unexplained for years until their remains were discovered on February 14, 2017, adjacent to a hiking trail.
Allen was given the longest punishment possible. According to Judge Frances C. Gull, it is among the most heinous offenses.
“Your carnage will be with these families forever,” the court declared.
According to Liberty’s grandfather and legal guardian, Mike Patty, the girls have received justice.
It has been coming for nearly eight years. He stated during a press conference that if he lived to reach 80, about 10% of his life would have been devoted to this project.
Allen was taken into custody by Indianapolis State Police in October 2022. Following what the state police superintendent described as a “long-term and complex investigation,” he was charged with murder.
According to the prosecution, Allen met the girls on the Monon High Bridge Trail, forced them down a slope, and then slit their throats while brandishing a revolver.
On November 11, a jury found Allen guilty of four charges of murder: one count of felony murder and one count of murder for each victim.
Allen might have received a prison term ranging from 45 to 130 years.
His lawyers say they intend to file an appeal. Prior to Friday’s sentencing, they noted in a sentencing document that Richard Allen maintains his innocence.
The murders rocked Delphi, a tiny town of around 2,900 people located about 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis.
That day, Liberty had captured cellphone footage of a guy prosecutors claim was Allen. Prosecutors also claimed that a black 2016 Ford Focus was visible on nearby security footage, that Allen owned the only vehicle of the type registered in Carroll County at the time of the murders, and that one unspent.40-caliber cartridge from Allen’s revolver was discovered at the site.
The video that Liberty took is a crucial piece of evidence in the case, according to Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland.
If I didn’t thank Abby and Libby directly, I would be remiss. Thank you, Libby, for capturing the defendant crossing the bridge. “Having the resources to take out her phone and record that person, knowing that something wasn’t right,” he stated during the press conference.
McLeland went on to blame Abby for concealing the phone. preventing the murderer from taking the phone by concealing it from him. concealing the phone so the police could locate it and obtain the piece of evidence that Libby had gathered. We wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for those two young girls. Thank you, Abby and Libby.
Defense lawyers contended that no one recognized Allen as the guy shown by witnesses or in the video. Additionally, they contended that there was no DNA or forensic evidence linking him to the murders.
An supposed confession made in a taped cell conversation to his wife last year was presented by the prosecution. He claims in it that he killed Abby. I murdered Libby and Abby.
His wife didn’t seem to trust him and suggested that his medication was causing mental health issues.
Prosecutors claimed Allen confessed to other prison employees, and a former prison psychologist also testified that Allen admitted to her that he killed the girls.
According to Brad Rozzi, Allen’s defense lawyer, the confessions were the result of a mental health crisis. While awaiting trial, Allen was being detained in a maximum-security facility. He was detained in solitary detention without due process, according to defense lawyers.
In a sentencing memo, defense lawyers also noted Allen’s lengthy history of mental illness and the fact that he had received treatment for anxiety and severe depressive disorder during his lifetime.
Prior to a file clerk collecting thousands of tips finding a mislabeled lead sheet in September 2022, Allen, a CVS cashier at the time of the killings, was not considered a suspect.
Allen contacted investigators days after the killings, claiming to have been at the same place as the girls on the day they vanished, according to the document, which had been mistakenly marked as clear.
Allen frequently walked that trail, according to defense lawyers, and he willingly went to the police because he wanted to assist in any way he could.
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