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At Richard Allen’s 2024 trial, prosecutors argued that he confronted Abigail “Abby” Williams, 13, and Liberty “Libby” German, 14, near Delphi’s Monon High Bridge, controlled them with a handgun, and forced them away from the trail. The state’s case relied on a cellphone recording, an unspent cartridge, Allen’s acknowledged presence in the area, and statements prosecutors described as confessions.
Those courtroom allegations included the girls’ deaths in a secluded wooded area and the placement of branches over or near their bodies. They were presented through testimony and evidence at trial; they should not be treated as an independently established reconstruction beyond what the jury found in convicting Allen. The defense challenged the forensic evidence, the interpretation of the recording, the alleged confessions, and the exclusion or limitation of third-party theories.
What happened to Abby Williams and Libby German
Abby Williams and Libby German disappeared during an afternoon outing near the Monon High Bridge Trail outside Delphi, Indiana, on February 13, 2017. Their bodies were found the next day.
German’s cellphone preserved a short video of a man on or near the bridge. It also captured audio in which investigators and prosecutors identified the words “down the hill.” The recording became the central public clue in the case, but it was not a complete visual or audio account of what happened afterward.
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Richard Allen, a Delphi resident and pharmacy technician, was arrested in October 2022, more than five years after the killings. He acknowledged being in the Monon High Bridge area on the afternoon of February 13, 2017. His presence became important to the prosecution’s effort to connect him to the man in German’s video.
The prosecution’s account of the encounter
The state’s theory was that Allen approached the girls near the bridge while armed. Prosecutors argued that the weapon allowed him to control them and that the command captured on German’s phone—“down the hill”—directed them away from the bridge and the more traveled part of the trail.
Under that theory, the encounter began as a kidnapping or attempted kidnapping. That allegation was legally significant: prosecutors charged Allen with two ordinary murder counts and later added two felony-murder counts alleging that each killing occurred while he was committing or attempting to commit kidnapping.
Prosecutors said the girls were taken into a secluded, wooded area. Trial reporting described the terrain as rugged and wooded and stated that the girls’ throats had been cut. Reporting also described testimony that branches were placed over or near their bodies. These were among the most disturbing details presented to the jury, but they came through trial evidence and testimony and should be understood in that context rather than as a graphic narrative.
What German’s phone captured—and what it did not
The cellphone evidence gave prosecutors a way to place a male figure near the girls shortly before their deaths. The state argued that the figure was Allen and that the voice on the recording was his. A state police witness testified that the voice belonged to Allen.
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The recording’s limitations were also important. It was short, and the visual and audio quality did not provide a continuous record of the encounter. It did not show the killings. The prosecution therefore used the recording as one part of a larger circumstantial case, rather than as a standalone video of the entire crime.
The defense questioned what could reliably be identified from the recording, including the interpretation of the voice and the meaning of the words captured on it. The difference is legally important: the state presented the voice identification as evidence connecting Allen to the recording, while the defense argued that the jury should not treat that testimony as conclusive.
The unspent cartridge near the bodies
An unspent cartridge recovered between or near the bodies was another major prosecution exhibit. Prosecutors said forensic testing showed that the cartridge had been cycled through Allen’s pistol. In other words, the state’s experts used toolmark evidence to argue that Allen’s firearm had previously handled the cartridge.
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That dispute is why the cartridge should be described as a contested forensic linkage, not as an uncontested scientific certainty. The jury ultimately convicted Allen, but the defense has continued to challenge aspects of the state’s evidence and the way it was admitted or interpreted.
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Allen’s presence, clothing, and account of the trail
Allen told investigators that he had been in the Monon High Bridge area that afternoon. Prosecutors used his account of his movements, the time he was present, and what he was wearing to argue that he matched the person seen in the cellphone video.
Trial reports said officers described Allen as telling them that he wore a dark or blue Carhartt jacket, jeans, and a beanie. The clothing description was used alongside the video and the timeline, not as independent proof of the killings. The prosecution’s argument was that Allen’s own account placed him in the relevant location and helped identify him as the man recorded near the bridge.
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Prosecutors presented recordings and testimony about statements Allen allegedly made to multiple people while incarcerated. Those accounts involved his wife, his mother, prison staff, a psychologist, investigators, and other inmates.
The state said some of the statements contained details that prosecutors considered significant, including references to cutting the girls’ throats and covering their bodies with branches. Prosecutors argued that such details supported their theory of what happened in the woods and were not simply vague expressions of guilt.
The defense disputed the meaning and reliability of the statements. Counsel argued that Allen’s deteriorating mental state and the conditions of his incarceration affected what he said. The defense also challenged the circumstances in which some statements were obtained and argued that they should not be interpreted as reliable admissions of the murders.
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Thus, the alleged confessions were not presented in a vacuum. The jury had to consider the content of the statements, the circumstances surrounding them, the testimony of the people who heard or recorded them, and the defense’s explanation for why Allen made them. Prosecutors treated them as corroboration of the physical and digital evidence; the defense treated them as unreliable or improperly interpreted statements from a vulnerable man.
The defense’s broader objections
Allen maintained his innocence. Defense counsel argued that the state’s case was circumstantial and challenged each major link in the prosecution’s chain:
- The cellphone evidence: The defense questioned what the short video and limited audio could establish about the man’s identity and the events that followed.
- The voice identification: Counsel disputed treating the brief recording as a conclusive match to Allen’s voice.
- The cartridge: The defense challenged the reliability and weight of the toolmark evidence connecting the unspent cartridge to Allen’s pistol.
- The alleged confessions: Counsel disputed their interpretation and emphasized Allen’s mental condition and prison environment.
- The search of Allen’s home: Issues concerning the search and evidence obtained from it are among the matters raised in the appeal.
- Third-party evidence: The defense sought to present a third-party or Odinism-related theory. The trial court limited or excluded portions of that evidence, and the scope of those rulings is part of the appellate dispute.
The defense’s position did not require the jury to accept a single alternative account of the killings. Its central argument was that the state had not proved Allen’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and that important evidence was either unreliable, improperly admitted, or given too much weight.
What the jury decided
The trial began in Carroll County, Indiana, on October 18, 2024. On November 11, 2024, the jury found Allen guilty on all four counts: two counts of murder and two felony-murder counts tied to kidnapping.
The verdict established Allen’s criminal responsibility under the jury’s findings. It did not turn the short cellphone recording into a complete record of the crime, nor did it eliminate the legal disputes over the admissibility and interpretation of evidence. Those disputes became central to Allen’s appeal.
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Sentence and current appellate status
On December 20, 2024, Judge Frances Gull sentenced Allen to 65 years for each murder, with the terms running consecutively. The total sentence was 130 years.
Allen continued to maintain his innocence and pursued direct appellate review. At the latest procedural point covered by the available authoritative reporting—August 11, 2026—the appeal was pending before the Indiana Court of Appeals. The court had scheduled oral argument for September 21, 2026.
Accordingly, the precise legal status is: Allen was convicted and sentenced, and his direct appeal was pending. It would be inaccurate, based on that status, to describe the conviction as reversed, vacated, or beyond all appellate review.
Further reading
Readers seeking a full-length narrative account can look for Shadow of the Bridge: The Delphi Murders and the Dark Side of the American Heartland. Edition, format, and availability may vary.
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What did the “down the hill” recording capture?
Libby German’s cellphone captured a short video of a man on or near the Monon High Bridge and audio in which prosecutors identified the command “down the hill.” The recording did not document the entire encounter or the killings.
What evidence did prosecutors use to connect Richard Allen to the Delphi murders?
The prosecution relied on the cellphone video and audio, voice-identification testimony, an unspent cartridge that prosecutors said had been cycled through Allen’s pistol, Allen’s acknowledged presence near the trail, his clothing and timeline, and statements prosecutors characterized as confessions.
Was Richard Allen convicted?
Yes. On November 11, 2024, a jury convicted Allen on two murder counts and two felony-murder counts connected to kidnapping. He was sentenced to two consecutive 65-year terms, totaling 130 years, on December 20, 2024.
Is Richard Allen’s case over?
Not at the latest procedural point covered here. As of August 11, 2026, his direct appeal was pending before the Indiana Court of Appeals, with oral argument scheduled for September 21, 2026. The available reporting did not establish that the conviction had been reversed or vacated.
The Bottom Line
The prosecution’s case portrayed a brief bridge encounter that became an abduction and a killing in the woods, supported by digital evidence, a disputed firearm linkage, Allen’s presence at the trail, and alleged confessions. The jury accepted that case and returned four guilty verdicts. The defense continues to challenge key evidence and trial rulings, so the responsible description remains: convicted and sentenced, with the direct appeal pending as of August 11, 2026.
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