Richard Allen was found guilty of the double murder of teenagers in 2017

The former CVS employee charged in the 2017 slayings of two middle school girls was convicted of murder Monday in a case that rocked the small town of Delphi, Indiana.

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

Allen is scheduled to be sentenced on December 20th.

A gag order remained in effect after the verdict, NBC affiliate WTHR in Indianapolis reported. A spokesman for the Indiana State Police, which investigated the killings, declined to comment because of the order, according to the station.

“This is far from over,” Allen’s wife tearfully told reporters, WTHR reported.

The jury heard from dozens of witnesses who testified over 17 days. The committee deliberated for four days.

Abigail and Liberty were 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.