Richard Allen was arrested and charged in October 2022, more than five years after Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, were killed in Delphi, Indiana, in February 2017. A jury found Allen guilty in November 2024, and he was sentenced to 130 years the following month. The Indiana Court of Appeals heard oral argument in his appeal on September 21, 2026; oral argument is not a ruling, so check the live docket for any later decision.
What happened in the Delphi murders?
Abigail “Abby” Williams and Liberty “Libby” German were killed in Delphi, Indiana, in February 2017. The case became known as the Delphi murders. The Monon High Bridge Trail is part of the public case framing, but the sources cited here do not independently establish every detail of the crime scene.
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The Indiana Supreme Court’s February 8, 2024 opinion records the killings and Allen’s arrest and charges more than five years later. It concerns a pretrial procedural dispute, not the jury verdict that came later. Indiana Supreme Court opinion
When was Richard Allen arrested, convicted, and sentenced?
| Event | Date | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Killings | February 2017 | Williams and German were killed in Delphi. |
| Arrest and charges | October 2022 | Allen was arrested and charged more than five years after the killings. |
| Jury verdict | November 11, 2024 | A jury found Allen guilty. The Associated Press reported two murder counts and two additional murder-while-kidnapping counts at the verdict stage. |
| Sentence | December 20, 2024 | The court imposed a 130-year sentence. |
| Appeal oral argument | September 21, 2026 | The Indiana Court of Appeals heard argument; that event alone does not resolve the appeal. |
The 2024 verdict and sentence are distinct from the later appeal. For the verdict and sentence reporting, see the Associated Press verdict report and Associated Press sentencing report. The appeal argument was reported by The Indiana Lawyer.
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Why wasn’t Richard Allen caught for five years?
The established timeline is that the killings occurred in February 2017 and Allen was arrested and charged in October 2022. The case therefore remained unsolved for more than five years before his arrest. The sources cited here do not provide a comprehensive account of why investigators did not identify or arrest Allen sooner, so they do not support attributing the delay to a particular agency error, missed lead, or investigative decision.
What is the status of Allen’s appeal?
The Indiana Court of Appeals heard oral argument on September 21, 2026. Oral argument is a stage in the appellate process, not a new trial or an appellate decision. The cited sources do not establish whether the court has ruled since then. Check the Indiana Judicial Branch’s appellate docket resources for the current status; its Clerk’s Office says a case can be searched in MyCase or the Clerk’s Online Docket by appellate case number, trial case number, party name, or attorney name.
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Where can you watch a documentary about the case?
Axios reported in September 2025 that ABC News Studios’ three-part docuseries Capturing Their Killer: The Girls on the High Bridge followed the case through sentencing and was available on Hulu at that time. Current availability is not established here; check Hulu’s current catalog before subscribing or searching for the series. Axios’s docuseries report
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