Verdict in Delphi: Richard Allen guilty in murders of Abby and Libby

Verdict comes after 18 days of testimony and four days of deliberations in the trial of Richard Allen in the 2017 murders of Delphi teens Abby Williams and Libby German

Libby German, left, and Abby Williams (Photos provided)

The verdict in the trial of Richard Allen: Guilty on all four counts in the 2017 murders of Delphi eighth-graders Abby Williams and Libby German.

The verdict came Monday afternoon after 18 days of testimony and nearly 19 hours of deliberations over four days by a jury chosen from Allen County.

Allen, a 52-year-old former pharmacy tech in Delphi, was arrested and charged for the murders in October 2022.

Richard Allen (Courthouse sketch: Li Buszka)

Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14, were found dead in the woods near the Monon High Bridge Trail on Feb. 14, 2017, a day after they’d been dropped off to spend an afternoon hiking to the Monon High Bridge.

The murders led to a 5½-year investigation that drew national and international attention to the town of 2,900 people, 20 miles northeast of Lafayette.

More on this story later.

MORE COVERAGE

• Day 19: No verdict Friday in Delphi murders trial

• Day 18: Final arguments, and jurors begin deliberations

• Day 17: Defense rests. Final arguments Thursday

• Day 16: Digital analyst says someone put headphones into Libby’s phone

• Day 15: A neuropsychologist details Richard Allen’s decline as confessions came. More videos from Westville cell. Sister, daughter dismiss what Allen said amid confessions. The return of Brad Weber’s van.

• Day 14: Jurors see conditions defense says played a role in Allen’s confessions

• Day 13: First full day for the defense

• Day 12: The state rests. The prosecution’s case against Richard Allen ends with his own words, with calls from a prison cell telling family he killed Abby Williams and Libby German. 

• Day 11: ‘I killed Abby and Libby:’ Reports of confessions kept rolling, these from prison psychologist

• Day 10: Interrogation denials and confessions in a state prison

• Day 9: DNA doesn’t come back to Richard Allen, state witness says

• Day 8: The interview that led to Richard Allen’s arrest

• Day 7:  How investigation tied a bullet found at scene to Richard Allen’s gun

• Day 6: How attention turned to a tip Richard Allen gave in the days after the murders

• Day 5: Autopsy photos, another ‘Bridge Guy’ witness and new info from Libby’s phone

• Day 4: Witnesses say they saw ‘Bridge Guy,’ but descriptions vary. Plus more video from Libby’s phone and an inventory of the crime scene

• Day 3: Delphi murder trial: A brutal Day 3, by all accounts

• Day 2: Delphi murder trial: Family friend who found Abby, Libby tells about that day

• Day 1: Families testify about Abby, Libby’s last day as Delphi murder trial opens

• Final day, pretrial: Composite sketches, other unresolved issues before opening statements Friday

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