Richard Allen
(UPDATE: May 8, 2024):
ALLEN CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – The double murder trial of Richard Allen has been delayed to October. Special Judge Fran Gull granted the defense team’s request to not start the trial next week as had been scheduled. Allen is charged with killing 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German in February 2017.
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(UPDATE: May 7, 2024):
ALLEN CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – The man accused of murdering two teenagers in Delphi has a hearing in Allen County today. Richard Allen was arrested in 2022 for the 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German.
On Monday, Allen was transported from Wabash Valley Correctional Facility to the Allen County Jail ahead of today’s hearing. The special judge overseeing the case is expected to consider requests from both the prosecutor and the defense attorneys ahead of Allen’s May 13th trial.
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(UPDATE: April 25, 2024):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – Special Judge Frances Gull is not going to allow for video and audio recordings at the double murder trial of Richard Allen next month.
She issued three orders this week that were published on Wednesday denying three more requests by New Media Coalition, a South Bend TV station, and an Indianapolis TV station. Another Indianapolis TV station was denied access to record earlier this month.
Allen is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German from Delphi in February 2017 when both were in eighth grade.
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UPDATE (March 18, 2024):
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – No rulings have been made by Special Judge Fran Gull in the Delphi double murder case after two hearings on Monday. The first hearing was to determine if the defense team for suspect Richard Allen should be held in contempt of court over evidence leaks. The second was for Allen’s defense to try to convince her to dismiss the case in its entirety. Allen is accused of killing Libby German and Abby Williams in 2017.
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UPDATE (March 12, 2024):
CARROLL CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – The double murder trial of Richard Allen will start May 13th instead of October. Allen is accused of killing teenage girls Abby Williams and Libby German in February 2017.
Special Judge Fran Gull has blocked off May 13th through May 31st on her court schedule for the trial. Jury selection will happen in Allen County, and the jurors and alternates will have to travel to Carroll County for the trial.
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UPDATE (February 8, 2024):
ALLEN CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – Special Judge Fran Gull says she will not recuse herself from hearing Richard Allen’s double murder trial in the deaths of two teenage girls.
Allen’s defense team was seeking to remove her from presiding over the trial. He is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi in February 2017.
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UPDATE (January 31, 2024):
CARROLL CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – Prosecutors in the Delphi double murder case want the suspect’s defense team held in contempt of court.
Richard Allen is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in Delphi in 2017. After the special judge overseeing the case dismissed Allen’s defense team, they were reinstated by the Indiana Supreme Court.
Now, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland is filing a contempt of court motion against the lawyers- alleging they violated court orders in the case with things they said in and out of the courtroom.
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UPDATE (January 18, 2024):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – The Carroll County Prosecutor is filing a request to amend the charges against the man accused in a double murder. Richard Allen is accused of killing Libby German and Abby Williams in February of 2017.
Allen could now also face two counts of murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, two counts of murder, and two counts of kidnapping.
The prosecutor in the case filed the charges the same day the Indiana Supreme Court heard arguments regarding Richard Allen’s defense team.
Allen’s original attorneys have been reinstated. That’s the ruling made by the Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday. This comes after the special judge in the case dismissed Richard Allen’s attorneys after an evidence leak.
The Indiana Supreme Court also decided on Thursday to keep the same special judge to preside over the case.
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UPDATE (January 15, 2024):
SULLIVAN CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – Attorneys for Delphi double murder suspect Richard Allen are asking for him to be moved to either the Allen County Jail or Adams County Jail ahead of his trial.
Allen has been at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Sullivan County for the past month after being transferred from the Westville Correctional Facility in LaPorte County.
He is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in February 2017.
Read more here
UPDATE (December 12, 2023):
CARROLL CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – The Indiana Supreme Court will hear arguments on January 18th in the double murder case against Richard Allen of Delphi.
Allen is asking to have his original defense team of Bradley Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin reinstated and get Special Judge Fran Gull pulled from the trial.
Gull removed the attorneys from the case in October due to a leak of crime scene evidence on the internet when someone took a photo of documents. She and Attorney General Todd Rokita want the petition rejected due to Allen not making an appeal and instead filing a writ of mandamus.
Read more here
UPDATE (December 8, 2023):
SULLIVAN CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – The man accused of killing two girls in Delphi in 2017 is now housed at a different prison ahead of his trial.
Richard Allen was transferred from the Westville Correctional Facility in LaPorte County to the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Sullivan County on Wednesday.
This comes after a request from Allen’s former attorneys in April asking for him to be moved to a new prison due to alleged mistreatment. Allen is accused of the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German.
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UPDATE (December 1, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – Delphi double murder suspect Richard Allen is asking the Indiana Supreme Court to intervene in his case. Allen wants his original defense team of Bradley Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin reinstated and wants the trial to start next month.
Judge Fran Gull removed Rozzi and Baldwin from the case in October after a former coworker of Baldwin took pictures of evidence photos laid out in the law office. Allen is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in February 2017.
Read more here
UPDATE (November 28, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – The Indiana Supreme Court will determine if the former defense team for the Delphi murders suspect will be reinstated. Richard Allen’s former lawyers filed a petition with the state’s highest court to remove special judge Fran Gull from the case.
Jude Gull and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita have both asked the Indiana Supreme Court to reject that request and not to reinstate Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi to Allen’s defense team.
Allen is accused in the 2017 killings of Abby Williams and Libby German in Delphi.
Read more here
UPDATE (November 22, 2023):
ALLEN CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – Allen County Judge Fran Gull has not been handling her recent caseload including the double murder case against Richard Allen due to being hospitalized recently for an urgent medical condition.
An Allen Superior Court official says Gull has been working from home after being hospitalized earlier this month. She did meet with attorneys in Allen’s Delphi murder case on October 31.
Other judges have been handling her cases since November 2nd but the statement did not clarify if they have handled Allen’s case, as he is charged with killing Abby Williams and Libby German in February 2017.
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UPDATE (November 7, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – The Indiana Supreme Court is being asked to take action in connection to the Delphi murders trial.
Civil attorneys on behalf of suspect Richard Allen are asking the state’s highest court to reinstate Allen’s attorneys.
His court-appointed counsel withdrew from the case and was then disqualified by the special judge. Allen’s filing with the Indiana Supreme Court also asks for that special judge to be removed from the case.
Allen is accused of killing Libby German and Abby Williams in Delphi in 2017.
Read more here
UPDATE (October 20, 2023):
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – The man accused in the 2017 murders of Abby Williams and Libby German in Delphi no longer has defense attorneys.
A hearing was scheduled in Richard Allen’s case in Fort Wayne on Thursday. Just minutes after the 2 p.m. hearing began it was over because the special judge overseeing the case announced Allen’s attorneys were withdrawing as his representation.
Now, it is expected that Allen will be provided a public defender. Allen did not appear in court Thursday, despite being transported to Fort Wayne, because of the lack of representation.
Read more here
UPDATE (October 19, 2023):
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – The Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen is set to appear in court today. Allen is accused of killing Libby German and Abby Williams in Carroll County in 2017. He faces a January trial.
The judge is expected to discuss allegations of an evidence leak revealed by a popular podcaster. The Special Judge in the case, Fran Gull, will have Allen taken from the Westville Correctional Facility to a courtroom in Allen County for the hearing.
Broadcast cameras will be allowed in the courtroom.
Read more here
UPDATE (October 18, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – Broadcast cameras will be allowed in the courtroom tomorrow as Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen appears for a hearing.
Allen is accused of killing Libby German and Abby Williams in Carroll County in 2017. He faces a January trial. The judge is allowing the media to have a camera in the courtroom during tomorrow’s status hearing.
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UPDATE (October 11, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – The prosecutor’s office says Delphi double murder suspect Richard Allen is safe in jail despite two officers at the prison claiming ties to Odinism. Allen’s defense team argues Abby Williams and Libby German were “ritualistically sacrificed” by the white nationalist group and members of a pagan Norse religion.
Both correctional officers admitted to wearing Odinist patches on their uniforms but said they do not practice it.
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UPDATE (October 3, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – The defense team for Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen says it believes the Indiana State Police have reopened their investigation.
They say investigators will be looking into the theory that Abby Williams and Libby German were killed in a ritualistic sacrifice.
The defense team says they have received several audio files of interviews by troopers in August with people who claim to be members of an ancient Nordic religious cult of Odinism. Allen’s attorneys say he is innocent because of the crime scene evidence.
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UPDATE (September 27, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – A motion has been filed by Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland to seal the court records of suspected Delphi double murder suspect Richard Allen.
He is accused of killing Libby German and Abby Williams in February 2017 and was arrested in October of last year.
In his motion, McLeland accuses the defense team of “extrajudicial grandstanding” in reference to several motions filed this month. Allen’s attorneys allege the girls were killed as part of an Odinist ritual sacrifice and not by him.
Read more here
UPDATE (September 19, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – The defense team for the man accused of killing two girls in Delphi claims the deaths were part of a ritualistic sacrifice.
Richard Allen was arrested last October for the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German in 2017.
In court documents filed Monday, Allen’s lawyers outlined a new theory that members of a “pagan Norse religion” “hijacked by white nationalists” killed the girls.
A trial date for Allen is scheduled for January but is expected to be delayed.
Read more here
UPDATE (June 29, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – The special judge overseeing the Delphi double murder trial is unsealing over 100 court documents.
This comes as 50-year-old Richard Allen is accused of murdering Abby Williams and Libby German in 2017.
The documents reveal the girls’ cause of death publicly for the first time, saying their deaths were due to “wounds caused by a sharp object.”
The court documents also allege Richard Allen has confessed multiple times during phone calls made from Westville Correctional Facility, where he is currently being housed.
Read more here
UPDATE (June 16, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – The man accused of killing Libby German and Abby Williams in Delphi in 2017 allegedly confessed to the crimes.
At a hearing Thursday, both the prosecutor and the defense mentioned incriminating statements made by Richard Allen while in prison, despite his previous denials that he was involved. At the hearing, the judge scheduled Allen’s trial to start on January 8, 2024.
The judge also heard motions to restrict the ballistic evidence presented at trial and to move Allen out of the state maximum security prison where he is currently in custody- but decisions will be made on both of these requests at a later date.
Read more here
UPDATE (June 14, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – Defense attorneys for the man accused of killing two teens in Delphi in 2017 want certain evidence restricted from the trial.
A probable cause affidavit alleges a .40 caliber unspent round from Richard Allen’s gun was found at the crime scene where Abby Williams and Libby German were murdered.
Now, Allen’s lawyers have filed a pretrial motion asking for certain ballistics evidence to be left out of the case. Allen is back in court Thursday for the judge to consider a number of motions filed by the defense and prosecutors. The judge is also expected to set a trial date.
Read more here
UPDATE (May 4, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – CVS and Westville Correctional Facility are being subpoenaed in connection to the Delphi murders trial. Richard Allen is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in 2017.
Now, prosecutors are asking his former employer CVS and the facility where he’s been held since November to provide documents and records.
The subpoenas from the Carroll County Prosecutor were approved by the judge Wednesday.
Read more here
UPDATE (April 6, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – Attorneys for the man accused in the 2017 killings of Abby Williams and Libby German in Delphi are asking for him to be moved to a new prison.
Richard Allen has been in custody at the Westville Correctional Facility since November. His attorneys compare Allen’s conditions in the maximum security segregation unit to a “prisoner of war”.
They allege he has not been able to visit with family in the past five months, isn’t being given much recreational time, and is sleeping on a pad on a concrete floor.
In a court motion, Allen’s attorneys are asking for him to be moved to the Cass County Jail or a facility closer to family and his counsel. Allen’s next hearing is scheduled for June 15th.
Read more here
UPDATE (February 20, 2023):
CARROLL CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – The bail hearing for the man accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in Delphi in 2017 is postponed.
A virtual hearing was held for Richard Allen on Friday to set a new hearing date. Allen is now due back in court on June 15th.
At that hearing, the defense team will argue for Allen’s bail to be reduced, while prosecutors will fight to keep him in custody.
Read more here
UPDATE (February 14, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – Prosecutors will not oppose a motion from the defense to post murder suspect Richard Allen’s trial.
Allen is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in Delphi in 2017.
The girls’ bodies were found six years ago today.
On the sixth year anniversary of their disappearance, prosecutors in the case against Allen said they didn’t object to the defense’s motion to push back the next hearing and the trial date for Allen.
Read more here
UPDATE (February 8, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – Attorneys for Richard Allen are asking a judge to push back his double murder trial in Delphi.
A court filing says the defense has not yet received all the evidence the state has and does not expect it before February 10th.
The defense team says this does not leave them enough time to prepare for a February 17th hearing on Allen being held without bail.
The attorneys are also asking for the March 20th trial over the 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German be delayed.
Read more here
UPDATE (February 2, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland is urging Special Judge Frances Gull to deny bond for the man accused of killing two teenagers in Delphi in 2017.
McLeland says people charged with murder are not eligible for bond if the state shows it can prove it is likely to prove Richard Allen committed the crime.
Allen has a hearing February 17 on the request for bond. Libby German and Abby Williams were killed in February 2017 while taking a hike.
Read more here
UPDATE (January 25, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – Special Judge Fran Gull says jurors in the Richard Allen murder trial will be from Allen County.
Allen is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in February 2017 and was not arrested until last October.
Gull said Monday the jurors would either be from Allen or St. Joseph counties before making the decision.
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UPDATE (January 24, 2023):
CAROLL CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – Jurors in Richard Allen’s double murder trial will come from either Allen County or St. Joseph County.
The court will decide which county’s jurors will hear the trial.
Allen allegedly killed Abby Williams and Libby German in February 2017 and was not arrested until last October.
His defense team originally asked to have the trial moved at least 150 miles away.
Read more here
UPDATE (January 16, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – Richard Allen’s trial will be held in Carroll County, but the jury will be from elsewhere in Indiana.
Allen is charged with killing 14-year-olds Abby Williams and Libby German nearly six years ago, and the judge ruled the gag order on the case will be permanent.
The judge gave attorneys on both sides a week to agree on a county to pull jurors from, noting “it’s painfully clear that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a jury here in Delphi, Indiana.”
Read more here
UPDATE (January 13, 2023):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – The man accused in the 2017 murders of Libby German and Abby Williams is due back in court today.
Richard Allen will be present in the Carroll County courtroom for the hearing after his arrest in Delphi in late October.
The judge will hear arguments about a change of venue motion and could lift a gag order issued last month. The judge will also hear requests from the defense- including a change of venue motion and an ask for the evidence that prosecutors are preparing.
Read more here
UPDATE (January 10, 2023):
(Left) Liberty Rose Lynn “Libby” German, 14, (Right) Abigail Joyce “Abby” Williams, 13 (Courtesy: Indiana State Police)
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – A hearing is scheduled for this week in the Delphi murders case.
A special judge will hear arguments on a change of venue requested by suspect Richard Allen’s attorneys.
That hearing is happening Friday at 10 a.m. It will be followed by an 11 a.m. hearing on the defense team’s request to fund more investigators.
Read more here
UPDATE (December 9, 2022):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – The suspect in the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German in 2017 in Delphi is asking for public funding for his defense.
Richard Allen is asking Allen County Judge Frances Gull for a private hearing on the request without prosecutors or the public being involved.
He says that is due to a public hearing forcing his lawyers to disclose their defense theory.
Read more here
UPDATE (November 30, 2022):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – One unfired bullet is what police say connected suspect Richard Allen to the murders in 2017 of Abby Williams and Liberty German.
According to court documents, the bullet was found between the girls’ bodies and had extraction marks on it.
Police found a .40 caliber pistol searching Allen’s home in October of this year, and say the bullet found was also from a .40 caliber gun. Allen has said he was on the trails in Delphi when the two were killed.
Meanwhile, Richard Allen’s defense attorneys are asking the court to change the venue for his trial.
They are asking to move the trial at least 150 miles from Carrol County to cut the risk of a “tainted jury pool”. No decision on the request has been made.
Read more here
UPDATE (November 23, 2022):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – A special judge has yet to decide if charging documents will be released in connection to the Delphi murders.
50-year-old Richard Allen is accused of killing Libby German and Abby Williams in 2017, but the police evidence linking him to the crimes is unknown because the probable cause affidavit was sealed.
The special judge in the case says she will decide in the coming days if that will stay the case or not. She also set a bail hearing for Allen for February 17th at the Carroll County Courthouse.
Read more here
UPDATE (November 22, 2022):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – The suspect in the Delphi murders is asking to be released from jail. Fifty-year-old Richard Allen was arrested on October 28th for the 2017 deaths of Libby German and Abby Williams.
His attorneys filed a request for Allen to be released without posting bond, or for the bail amount to be changed to a “reasonable” amount. This comes as a special judge will hold a hearing in the case today (November 22).
This will determine if court documents showing why Allen was arrested will remain sealed or will be opened to the public.
Read more here
Look for updates as they become available.
UPDATE (November 15, 2022):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – The suspect in the Delphi murders now has legal representation.
50-year-old Richard Allen, accused of killing Libby German and Abby Williams in 2017, asked the court to provide him with a public defender last week.
He had first asked to find his own representation at his initial hearing, but later wrote the court asking for legal assistance due to its cost.
Court records now list Bradley Anthony Rozzi of Logansport as Allen’s lead attorney.
Co-counsel is listed as Andrew Joseph Baldwin with Baldwin Perry & Kamish PC in Franklin.
Read more here
UPDATE (November 10, 2022):
CARROLL CO., Ind. (ADAMS) -The suspect in the Delphi murders is asking for a public defender.
Richard Allen is facing murder charges for the 2017 deaths of Libby German and Abby Williams.
In a request, Allen says he asked to find his own representation at his initial hearing but didn’t realize how expensive it would be.
His request was filed on November 1st before he was moved from the White County Jail to Indiana Department of Correction custody.
Read more here
UPDATE (November 4, 2022):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – A special judge will be appointed in the case of a man accused of killing Libby German and Abby Williams. Richard Allen is facing two counts of murder.
Judge Fran Gull in Allen County is expected to be appointed to the case. This comes after Carroll County Judge Benjamin Diener recused himself.
Meanwhile, Richard Allen will move from county jail to a state prison “for safekeeping.”
Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby filed the motion to move the 50-year-old to protect him ahead of his trial.
The probable cause affidavit will remain sealed until a public hearing.
Read more here
UPDATE (November 3, 2022):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – A date is set for a hearing on whether or not the charging documents for the man accused in a 2017 double murder will remain sealed.
Richard Allen was arrested Friday in connection to the deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German in February of 2017.
A Carroll County Circuit Judge will decide if the probable cause affidavit in the case will be made public on November 22nd.
Until the documents are made accessible, it remains unknown how investigators linked Allen to the murders.
Read more here
UPDATE:
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – A 50-year-old man is charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German.
The girls were killed in February of 2017 in Delphi. Indiana State Police announced Monday that Richard Allen was arrested Friday and in an initial hearing, he pleaded not guilty.
Allen was working for CVS in Delphi at the time of the murders and reportedly had interactions with the family.
CVS has released a statement about former employee Richard Allen. It is the only pharmacy in Delphi, and people knew him in the town of 3,000 people.
CVS says they are “shocked and saddened to learn that a store employee, who is no longer employed by CVS, was arrested as a suspect in these crimes” and say they are open to cooperating with the investigation.
Court documents in the case are currently sealed. A trial is set for March.
Indiana State Police released the following on Monday (10/31/22):
After an extensive investigation, the Delphi Double Homicide Task Force made an arrest for the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German.
On February 13, 2017, Abigail Williams and Liberty German were tragically murdered while visiting the Monon High Bridge in Delphi, IN. Shortly after, the Indiana State Police and Carroll County Sheriff’s office created the Delphi Double Homicide Task Force, which encompassed federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. This task force has worked diligently the last five and a half years to ensure this horrendous crime did not go unsolved.
On Wednesday, October 26, 2022, detectives with the Delphi Double Homicide Task Force took Richard Allen, 50, from Delphi Indiana into custody at the Indiana State Police Lafayette Post for the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German. Allen was transported to Carroll County Jail, where he was being held.
On Friday, October 28, 2022, Allen was formally charged with two counts of murder and transported to the White County Jail, where he is currently being held without bond.
We would like to thank everyone who was involved throughout this investigation, which included the Indiana State Police, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, Delphi Police Department, Carroll County Prosecutor’s office, United States Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and numerous other federal and local agencies. These agencies have invested countless hours and resources into this investigation.
This is an active and ongoing investigation. There is no further information to release at this time.
*All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
ORIGINAL STORY (October 31, 2022):
DELPHI, Ind. (ADAMS) – A press conference will be held today to give more information following an arrest that was made in connection to the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German in 2017.
50-year-old Richard Allen has been arrested.
Allen was booked Friday into the Carroll County Jail. Authorities will release more information this morning. The two girls were killed in February 2017 and the suspected killer was spotted in a photo from Libby German’s phone.
Indiana State Police released the following:
The multi-agency press conference scheduled for October 31, 2022, will be broadcast via Facebook Live on the Indiana State Police Public Information Office page. That page can be found at the included link. The press conference is scheduled to begin promptly at 10:00 A.M. (E.S.T.) Following the press conference, the media event will be available on the Indiana State Police YouTube channel.
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