Richard Allen Guilty of Killing Teens Last Heard In Chilling Cell Phone Video

On Monday, after 18 hours of deliberation from the jury, Richard Allen was convicted of killing Liberty “Libby” German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13. He was discovered responsible of two counts of homicide and two extra counts of homicide whereas committing or trying to commit kidnapping.

Williams and German disappeared after going out for a hike on the Delphi Historic Trails in February 2017. They have been final seen on Abby’s Snapchat crossing the Monon Excessive Bridge, earlier than their our bodies have been discovered with their throats slashed the subsequent day. An unspent spherical from a 40-caliber gun was discovered close by.

All through the five-and-a-half yr investigation, police launched video of a person they believed was a suspect, captured by Abigail on her telephone. The video confirmed a person in a blue jacket — dubbed “Bridge Man” — together with audio of him saying, “Guys … down the hill.”

Throughout the trial, Indiana State Police grasp trooper Brian Harshman testified that — after listening to greater than 700 calls Allen made in jail — Allen was “Bridge Man,” one thing prosecutors additionally insisted throughout closing arguments.

“Richard Allen is Bridge Man,” Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland instructed jurors, saying Allen kidnapped and murdered the 2 teenagers.

Allen labored for the native CVS and, in keeping with Libby’s aunt, Tara German, he even helped print pictures of the younger woman for her funeral.

“I went into the shop to print pictures of Libby for the funeral, and he was the one who helped me,” German instructed CNN after the arrest. “I used to be a large number attempting to get the photographs off my telephone. As soon as they have been printed, he checked out me and mentioned, ‘I am not gonna cost you for this.'”

He was additionally interviewed by police in 2017, admitting he was on the identical trial on the time the ladies have been there, however solely recalled seeing three girls he could not determine. In 2022, he was interviewed once more, earlier than police searched his residence and decided the unspent bullet discovered close to the our bodies had been “cycled via” his personal gun.

Whereas Allen denied being concerned within the women’ murders in police interviews and pleaded not responsible, he additionally allegedly confessed to the killings in telephone calls together with his spouse and mom.

Allen additionally allegedly instructed a therapist who he spoke to whereas awaiting trial, “I killed Abby and Libby. I’ll kill everybody. I’ll wipe out everyone,” the therapist testified. In these classes he additionally allegedly mentioned he deliberate to rape the ladies, acquired scared by a passing van and as an alternative killed them, slashing their throats earlier than overlaying their our bodies with branches.

Protection argued that being in solitary confinement behind bars drove Allen to provide false confessions whereas in a state of psychosis. Insisting Allen was harmless, his protection lawyer additionally mentioned no bodily DNA linked his consumer to the homicide scene.

The protection initially deliberate to argue the 2 women have been “ritualistically sacrificed” by a cult, pointing the finger at a white nationalist group referred to as Odinists — and saying “the proof strongly helps an organized pagan cult as being the killers.”

The choose, nevertheless, mentioned they weren’t allowed to introduce that concept to the jury.

Allen’s sentencing is scheduled for December 20.