DELPHI — Jurors in the high-profile trial of Richard Allen, accused of murdering two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana, are entering their fourth day of deliberations on Monday as they continue to weigh the evidence in the case.
Allen, 50, is charged with the February 13, 2017, killings of Libby German and Abby Williams, whose bodies were found near the Monon High Bridge. After receiving the case, jurors began deliberating at 1:35 p.m. on Thursday and have spent more than 14 hours over three days deliberating, including a 4.5-hour session on Saturday where they viewed key evidence, including video footage of police interviews with Allen.
The videos included two interviews from October 2022, where Allen was questioned after his name emerged as a suspect in the case. One of these interviews featured Allen admitting he had been on the bridge the day of the murders, at approximately the same time as the suspected killer, and wearing similar clothing to the “Bridge Guy,” the figure seen in a photo on Libby’s cell phone. In the interview, Allen initially cooperates with questioning but becomes increasingly evasive when asked what he wore that day. Toward the end of the 90-minute interview, he denied permitting a search of his home.
Later, investigators seized items from Allen’s residence, including knives, clothing, a gun, and a bullet, which they say link him to the crime scene. Police also took possession of Allen’s car, a black 2016 Ford Focus, which was spotted near the bridge around the time of the murders.
Despite the mounting evidence, including Allen’s admission that no one else had access to his gun, he has consistently denied involvement in the killings. During one of the interviews, Allen challenged investigators to charge him but asked that his wife not be implicated in the case.
Allen’s arrest came shortly after the interviews. He was later transferred to solitary confinement for his own protection, where he reportedly suffered a mental health crisis. According to prison records, during this time, Allen made multiple confessions to his family and a prison psychiatrist, offering additional details about the crime that had not been made public.
The prosecution has focused on Allen’s statements, his presence on the bridge, and the physical evidence linking him to the scene, urging jurors to consider the “overwhelming” circumstantial evidence. In contrast, the defense has argued that Allen’s confessions were coerced under duress and mental illness, pointing to a lack of DNA evidence and challenging the forensic analysis of the bullet found at the crime scene.
Throughout the trial, Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland has faced challenges, including acknowledging investigators’ errors, such as lost evidence and untested leads. Despite these setbacks, Judge Fran Gull instructed the jury to rely on circumstantial evidence, emphasizing that they must find Allen guilty beyond a reasonable doubt but not necessarily over every possible doubt.
The jury, composed of seven women and five men from Fort Wayne, is now tasked with determining Allen’s fate, weighing conflicting evidence, and deciding whether the prosecution has proven its case.
