A judge in Indiana on Friday sentenced Richard Allen, the person behind the murders of two teens in Delphi in 2017, to a maximum of 130 years in prison.
The sentence includes 65 years each for the murders of 13-year-old Abigail "Abby" Williams and 14-year-old Liberty "Libby" German. Specifically, the charges included felony murder, attempting to commit kidnapping, and murder for knowingly killing the teens.
The jury deliberated for 19 hours before reaching their verdict. Allen, whose family did not attend his sentencing, showed no reaction when he was handed 130 years in prison, according to ABC News.
Behind the Delphi Murders
On February 13, 2017, Abby and Libby disappeared during their walk along the High Monon Trail. Investigators found their bodies the next day covered with sticks and left in a wooded area about a mile from where the teens were last seen on the trail. Abby and Libby had their throats cut.
In the months that followed, investigators pursued plenty of leads. They had also released multiple composite sketches of the suspect based on accounts from an eyewitness.
They also uncovered audio and video evidence from Libby's phone. The audio recording revealed a man telling the teens to go "down the hill." A video recording, specifically a Snapchat video, also showed a man police believed to be the murderer.
Catching Allen
Allen, who was employed at a local CVS pharmacy, had been interviewed by police in the days following the discovery of the teens' bodies. He told investigators that he had been on the trail when the murders were thought to have occurred. He also noted that he saw three "females" near a bridge at the trail while he was out on a walk but added that he had not spoken to them.
Allen was arrested on October 26, 2022, nearly two weeks after he was again interviewed by police, and investigators found a pistol in his home that matched the unspent cartridge found between Abby and Libby's bodies.
Following his sentencing, Allen's attorneys have hinted plans to appeal the verdict. In a memo, his attorneys said Allen "maintains his innocence," as reported by Fox News.
