During the sentencing hearing held this morning at 9 a.m. in the Carroll County Court, Richard Allen was officially sentenced to 130 years in prison, almost eight years after the children’s bodies were found near a hiking trail.
Special Judge Fran Gull delivered the maximum sentence of 130 years for Allen for the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German in February 2017. Allen was given 786 days’ credit for time served. Due to the severity of the crime that received a guilty verdict, Allen’s sentencing range was 45 years to 130 years in prison. He was ultimately given 65 years for counts three and four, which would be served consecutively, for a total of 130 years. Counts one and two were vacated due to double jeopardy at the request of Allen’s attorneys.
The Friday sentencing hearing also included victim impact statements from six family members.
Following three days of deliberations in November, the jury in the double murder trial of Richard Allen reached a verdict of “guilty” on all four counts of murder.
Allen was initially charged for four counts of murder on Oct. 28, 2022 for the killing of two teenage girls, Abby Williams and Libby German, in February 2017. The jury trial began on Oct. 14 with jury selection and concluded Nov. 11 with the issuance of the verdict.
Allen, 52, was initially charged with the murders of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, in 2022. Abby and Libby disappeared during a hike on Feb. 13, 2017 near the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi before their bodies were discovered in the woods near the trail a day later.
The investigation into Allen was reportedly initiated after he called the police in February 2017 to report that he had been on the Monon High Bridge on the day of the murders between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., but the tip sheet was reportedly misfiled and incorrectly labeled, later being uncovered by a volunteer who organized Delphi murders tips in September 2022.
Following the discovery of the tip, investigators reportedly began asking Allen about his whereabouts, and he stated that he was around the area from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017. Allen reportedly drove a black 2016 Ford Focus SE that investigators stated was spotted on a security camera from the Hoosier Harvest Store, and Allen reportedly admitted he wore a Carhartt jacket and blue jeans on the day in question, which investigators connected with a man present in a video located on Libby German’s phone during the timeframe of the murders. The man in the video was later known as “Bridge Guy.” Investigators stated that based on the analysis of the phone, movement stopped at 2:32 p.m., which led the prosecution to believe that the girls were murdered around that time, which falls in the timeframe that Allen initially reported he was on the bridge.
During the trial, the state introduced witnesses and evidence to convict Allen, such as introducing a crime lab technician that matched a bullet found at the crime scene to Allen’s gun, camera footage that captured Allen’s car near the murder scene, confessions from Allen that he was on the bridge the day of the murders and confessions from Allen that he committed the crime, multiple times, including in-jail phone calls to his wife and mother. The State rested its case on Monday, Nov. 4.
The defense presented counter arguments that included stating that the state had no DNA linking Allen to the crime or social media or digital forensic evidence linking Allen to the crime. As well, the defense stated that Allen’s time in solitary confinement reportedly “warped his mind” and led to false confessions. Lastly, the defense claimed that the state’s investigation was carried out carelessly since the beginning and that the ballistics evidence was inconclusive. The defense rested its case on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
The jury received the evidence presented and ruled that Allen was “guilty” on all four counts of murder.
A guilty verdict exposed Allen to the possibility of a 130-years-in-prison sentence with a guilty verdict on all counts. Sentencing was conducted on Dec. 20 where he received a sentence of 130 years in prison.