DELPHI, Ind. — Richard Allen was sentenced to 130 years in prison for the killing of two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana.
Even though Allen, 52, was convicted last month, a gag order remained on the case until Friday. So, this was the first time, since before the trial began, that attorneys and the girls’ families have spoken.
The sentencing hearing was over in just about an hour, as Judge Fran Gull sentenced Allen to 130 years in prison, 65 years for each of the two girls, bringing to an end a nearly eight-year saga that has put a national spotlight on a small Indiana community of just about 3,000 residents.
Gull called this one of the most hideous cases she’s ever presided over.
“You never forget. You’re just waiting to see what the next steps are going to be. It’s something I’ve never experienced before,” Carroll County resident Julie Burke said.
Allen received the maximum possible sentence.
Eighth graders and best friends Abigail Williams and Liberty German were 13 and 14 years old when they vanished after going for an afternoon hike along a rural abandoned railroad trail on Feb. 13, 2017.
They had the day off from school.
Their bodies were found the next day, and their throats had been slashed. Ironically, prosecutors say German had recorded Allen on her cell phone, as they crossed an abandoned railway trestle.
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And yet, it was five years before Allen was arrested in 2022, despite over 60 confessions: in-person, over the phone and in writing, which were presented at trial. Allen’s attorney’s tried to convince the jury, which remained sequestered the entire time, that he was innocent.
Libby German’s grandfather, Mike Patty, said on behalf of both families, “Justice has been served for the girls. I want to thank the jurors, who took time out of their lives. For that, I will always be grateful.”
“This community has embraced our families from day one, and continues to lift and support us. For that, I will always be grateful,” he said.
Neither the families nor the investigators were using the word “closure.”
It was a thought echoed by others who’ve devoted nearly eight years to bringing the murderer to justice.
“There will never be closure in this case. The Germans and the Williams lost their daughters, their granddaughters, their siblings. A form of justice was served, but it does not bring Abby or Libby back,” Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett said. ” It used to be a place where people didn’t lock their doors. I believe the verdict and the sentencing will help ease some of that sense of security for the people of Carroll County.”
Prosecutors credited the verdict and the sentence to the girls themselves, for taking grainy cell phone footage of who they say was Allen himself, just moments before they were killed.
He was heard saying, “girls, down the hill,” and, over the years, became popularly known as the “bridge guy.”
“Having the wherewithal to pull out the phone and record the individual, having the wherewithal to know that something wasn’t right, arguably the biggest piece of evidence we had,” Carroll County prosecutor Nicholas Mcleland said. “It’s hard to say he isn’t bridge guy. And, if you can accept that he’s bridge guy. You can accept that he’s the killer and that to me is the bottom line.”
One of Allen’s defense attorneys spoke only briefly following Friday’s hearing. While she would not discuss next steps now, it appears clear they will file an appeal.
His defense team maintains the former pharmacy tech was spiraling into insanity, locked in solitary confinement for 13 months.
She also expressed her condolences to the families.
“What they went through is unimaginable. We are looking forward to the next steps in our case. Other than that, we have nothing to say,” Jennifer Auger said.
Allen has 30 days to file an appeal.
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