The man who murdered Delphi teenagers Liberty German and Abigail Williams will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Judge Frances Gull handed down a 130-year prison sentence to Richard Allen on Friday morning, after a brief hearing where family members and investigators provided emotional testimony about the appalling nature of his crime. They strongly urged the judge to deliver a severe sentence.
Allen, 52, was charged on two counts of murder and two counts of felony murder, which is murder committed in the act of another crime.
Under double jeopardy rules, two of the counts against Allen were overturned on Friday, leaving only two murder counts. He was given the maximum penalty of 65 years for each count to be served consecutively. The prosecutors had not pushed for the death penalty in this case.
Allen’s wife Kathy did not attend the court hearing for her husband’s sentencing. Despite the defense’s argument that the impact of Allen’s imprisonment on her should be considered a mitigating factor, Judge Gull dismissed this claim.
Addressing Allen who wore a gray sweatshirt over his orange prison jumpsuit, his wrists cuffed and fixed to the transportation belt around his waist, Judge Gull said, ‘I’ve been a criminal court judge for 27 years and presided over the most hideous cases in the state of Indiana.
‘You rank as one of the most hideous. You’re right up there. You rank right up there with the extraordinary impact [your actions] have had on the families…generational impact.
‘The families will deal with your carnage forever and you sit here and roll your eyes at me as you have rolled your eyes at me repeatedly during this trial.’
Richard Allen, 52, leaves the Carroll County Courthouse, Friday, after being sentenced to 130 years in prison for the 2017 murders of Abby Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, in Delphi, Indiana
Sheriffs officers outside of the Carroll County Courthouse escorting in Richard Allen for his sentencing Friday
Allen was charged on two counts of murder and two counts of felony murder, which is murder committed in the act of another crime. Two of those counts were vacated Friday under the law double jeopardy rules
Asked if he had anything to say Allen said ‘No,’ before he was led out by Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputies.
Earlier the court heard from six of Libby and Abby’s relatives as well as lead investigator Jerry Holeman who described the girls’ murders as one of the most brutal cases he had ever known.
In a chilling revelation Libby’s grandmother Becky Patty recalled that, just days after he killed the girls Allen, who worked at the local CVS, developed photographs of Libby that would be used at her funeral.
She said, ‘He watched as we struggled ….never blinking an eye. No remorse. I wonder what he was thinking.’
Patty spoke of her loathing for the man who has devastated so many lives in taking the girls’. She said, ‘I hope he’s not held in a single cell. I hope he’s in General Population…I hope he spends each day living with the same fear he inflicted on Libby and Abby the last moments of their lives.’
Addressing her own hatred she said, ‘I hope God can see my heart and forgive me.’
Libby’s mother, Kerry Timmons gave voice to the families’ agonizing grief, loss and trauma.
She said, ‘The last 2,867 days have been absolute hell. Next week we should have been celebrating our birthdays. She would be 22 and she should be here.
Liberty German (left) and Abigail Williams were murdered as they were on a hike at the Monon High Bridge outside their hometown of Delphi, Indiana
Spectators line up to enter the Carroll County Courthouse for the sentencing of Allen on Friday
Family members of Liberty German, and Abigail Williams listen as Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter speaks during a news conference in Delphi in October 2022
Prosecutor Nick McLeland delivered his closing statement on November 7, calling February 13, 2017, ‘a day this community will never forget’
‘I quit celebrating at her 14th and my 39th.’
She went on to speak of the ‘hole’ in her soul and the broken relationships and shattered lives and dreams that have come in the wake of the girls’ deaths.
Next Libby’s cousin, Josh Lank, stood to read his impact statement saying, ‘God doesn’t have a place for sick, twisted individuals like him. The Devil has a special place for them and I hope prison community gets him there faster than the sentence.’
This follows almost six weeks since the Allen was found guilty on all four counts with which he was charged in the murders of the two best friends.
After deliberating for 18 hours, the Carroll County jury reached its unanimous verdict – Allen was guilty of all charges in the 2017 murder.
The trial lasted 17 days, with 60 witnesses and more than 300 exhibits presented. Prosecutor Nick McLeland delivered his closing statement on November 7, calling February 13, 2017, ‘a day this community will never forget.’
He told jurors that on that day, Abby and Libby went for a walk on the trails and never returned. McLeland said Richard Allen murdered them.
McLeland showed the video recorded by Libby at 2.13pm, ‘the moment the girls were kidnapped.’ The shaky footage showed Abby picking her way across the bridge with the bundled-up figure of a man walking with purpose behind her.
Defense attorney Bradley Rozzi argued the state failed to prove its case. He criticized the prosecution’s timeline and ballistics evidence, claiming both were unreliable
Richard Allen posing for his mugshot after being arrested for the 2017 murders
‘Guys, down the hill,’ echoed through the silent room along with a startled chirp from one of the girls and the horrified words, ‘That be a gun.’
McLeland presented additional evidence connecting Allen to the crime scene. A bullet cartridge found near the bodies had been cycled through Allen’s gun. When police searched Allen’s home in October 2022, they found a ‘a Bridge Guy starter kit,’ consisting of a Carhartt jacket and a Sig Sauer P226 firearm, both linked to the crime
During the trial, McLeland showed the video recorded by Libby at ‘the moment the girls were kidnapped.’ In the shaky footage Abby could be seen picking her way across the bridge, with the bundled-up figure of a man walking behind her
The only item missing was the phone Allen used in 2017 at the time of the murders, something he had never let law enforcement inspect.
Allen was, the prosecutor told jurors, ‘familiar with the area.’ He had frequently visited the Monon High Bridge alone and with his family. ‘See how they pieces are starting to fall into place?’ he urged.
McLeland reminded them that the state presented evidence that the cartridge found between the girls’ bodies had, he said, ‘been cycled through Richard Allen’s gun.’ It was he suggested concrete evidence that connected Allen to the girls and the crime scene.
McLeland reminded the jury that the state presented evidence that the cartridge found between the girls’ bodies had, he said, ‘been cycled through Richard Allen’s gun.’ It was he suggested concrete evidence that connected Allen to the girls and the crime scene.
‘That could have ended the case,’ he asserted. ‘But then he starts to confess.’
McLeland played a phone call Allen made to his wife on April 3, 2023, in which he confessed, ‘I did it. You know I did it. I killed Abby and Libby.’
McLeland called the confession ‘unprovoked’ and ‘uncoerced,’ reinforcing Allen’s guilt.
Defense attorney Bradley Rozzi argued the state failed to prove its case. He criticized the prosecution’s timeline and ballistics evidence, claiming both were unreliable.
Richard Allen’s House was 1.7 miles from the Monon High Bridge – a 34 minutes walk
A makeshift memorial to Liberty German, and Abigail Williams near where their bodies were discovered was placed along the Monon High Bridge Trail
Libby’s grandmother Becky Patty told the trial that Libby had told her, ‘Someday I’m going to grow up and help police solve crimes. That’s exactly what she did, and she brought Abby along with her’
Rozzi suggested that Allen’s confessions were the result of mental illness caused by solitary confinement. He explained they caused an already ‘fragile egg’ to become seriously mentally ill and develop Major Depressive Disorder with Psychosis.
He also pointed to data from Libby’s phone, showing that someone plugged headphones into it at 5.45pm on February 13, 2017, and removed them at 10.32 pm. He suggested that this indicated someone else may have been involved after the girls went missing. But the prosecution dismissed this as a technical glitch caused by dirt or water.
Rozzi told them: ‘The magic bullet is nothing more than a tragic bullet. It is the catalyst that landed Rick in that prison.’ The prison in question was Westville Correctional Facility in Westville some 76 miles outside Delphi.
He even likened Allen’s treatment behind bars to thumbscrews and the rack.
These were, he said, ‘medieval devices to interrogate people. As society we’ve evolved…to a more subtle form called solitary confinement.
But in his rebuttal McLeland sought to refocus jurors’ minds. ‘There are two victims in this case,’ he said. ‘Liberty and Abigail. But they’re more than victims, they’re heroes. Libby for making the video. Abby for hiding the phone and both of them for camouflaging the bullet.’
Finishing his brief response, he reminded them of the testimony of Libby’s grandmother Becky Patty delivered on the first day of evidence.
He said, ‘Libby told her, ‘Someday I’m going to grow up and help police solve crimes. That’s exactly what she did, and she brought Abby along with her.’
