On February 14, 2017, the bodies of 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German were found dead near the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, Indiana. The two best friends had gone missing from the trail the day before.
Over the years, the case generated national attention as investigators continued to search for suspects, with the girls believed to have been murdered. The case took on an especially eerie tone when German’s smartphone was found, revealing video and audio shot by the victim in which a strange man, suspected to be their killer, could be seen and heard.
After well over five years of investigation, the ISP held a news conference on Monday to confirm that an arrest had finally been made. Allen, 50, was arrested on Wednesday and held at the Carroll County Jail. Later, on Friday, he was formally charged with two counts of murder and moved to a state facility. During his first court appearance, Allen entered a plea of not guilty.
“I wasn’t really sure what emotion I would experience, but peace came over me,” ISP Superintendent Doug Carter said during the news conference. “But remember: We’re not done.”
Who is Richard M. Allen?
Aside from confirming his name and the charges against him on Monday, the ISP kept most other details about Allen close to the vest. Carter said that Allen’s arrest affidavit has been temporarily sealed, leaving it unknown for now what led investigators to him as a suspect.
Over the years, a small handful of persons of interest in the Delphi murders emerged. Allen’s name was never among them. Despite the investigations casting a wide net across Indiana, and even into other states, Allen was ultimately found residing in Delphi, not far from where Williams and German were found dead.
Online records obtained by The Independent and other outlets show that Allen had been a longtime resident of Delphi, first moving there in 2006. The suspect is reportedly married and has been working as a pharmacy technician since receiving his pharmaceutical license in 2018. According to residents who spoke to Fox 59 News, Allen worked at a local CVS where he interacted with many members of the local community.
“When I will go into CVS as a customer myself, he would say, ‘Do you need any help?’ I would be like ’no,’” Chandler Underhill, the manager of Delphi’s Brick & Mortar Pub, where Allen was a regular, told the outlet. “Just like a normal guy that I’ve seen for the last couple years, not really thinking anything.”
Aside from the fact that he allegedly did not talk much, Underhill said nothing odd stood out to him or his employees about Allen.
Newsweek reached out to the ISP for comment.
