Richard Allen was found guilty of killing two teenagers in Delphi, Indiana

A jury has convicted an Indiana man accused of killing two teenagers while hiking outside Delphi.

Richard Allen, 52, was convicted of all counts in connection with the Feb. 13, 2017, murders of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German. He faces up to 130 years in prison when he is sentenced on December 20.

Prosecutors said Allen acted alone when he kidnapped the girls from the abandoned railroad bridge called the Monon High Bridge. A key piece of evidence in the case was a cell phone video taken by Libby that shows a man approaching the girls on the bridge and ordering them to go “down the hill.” The next day, searchers found their bodies about a quarter-mile away on private property.

The case garnered national attention for years but remained unsolved until October 2022, when authorities announced they had arrested Allen, a pharmacy technician who lived and worked in Delphi.

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Since Allen’s arrest, the case has taken several twists and turns, as evidence was leaked, Allen’s public defender withdrew and was later rehired, and defense filings alleged that Odinists were responsible for the girls’ murder. Special Judge Fran Gull ruled that Allen’s defense could not present evidence at trial that the murders were committed by a third party.

Judge Gull banned cameras from the courtroom during Allen’s trial. Reporters were also barred from bringing electronic devices into the courthouse, so they had to rely on paper and pens.

At the end of the day’s proceedings, Judge Gull allowed members of the media in the courthouse to view all of the exhibits presented that day for 15 minutes.