FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The murder trial of Richard Allen, who faces charges related to the deaths of two teenage girls in Indiana, has moved forward as the final jurors were selected on Tuesday. This follows a process that began on Monday, leading to the assembly of 12 jurors and four alternates who will deliberate in the case involving the 2017 murders of 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German, known as Abby and Libby.
Allen, 52, faces multiple charges, including two counts of murder and two counts of murder in the course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to a maximum of 130 years behind bars. The jurors will be sworn in on Thursday, with the trial set to take place in Delphi, a small community approximately 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis. Opening statements are expected to commence on Friday morning.
The courtroom proceedings are anticipated to span about a month, during which jurors will be sequestered. They will be overseen by bailiffs and prohibited from using phones or viewing news during the trial to maintain the integrity of the proceedings. Prosecutors plan to call around 50 witnesses to testify, while Allen’s defense intends to present approximately 120 witnesses.
Richard Allen, previously working as a pharmacy technician in Delphi, was arrested in October 2022. On February 13, 2017, a relative had dropped off the two friends at a hiking trail just outside of Delphi, but the girls never made it back to their designated pickup location that day. They were reported missing in the evening, and their bodies were discovered the following day in a secluded, wooded area close to the trail.
In the aftermath of the girls’ disappearance, investigators released materials discovered on Libby’s cellphone, which included two blurred photos and an audio recording of a male voice instructing “down the hill,” believed to be linked to the perpetrator. Over the years, law enforcement produced sketches of the suspect in July 2017 and again in April 2019, as well as a brief video capturing a figure walking along a defunct railroad bridge.
After a prolonged search for a suspect, authorities revisited earlier leads and tips. Among those interviewed was Allen, who claimed he was on the trail at the time of the girls’ disappearance. According to an arrest affidavit, he noted that he observed three “females” near another bridge, but stated he did not interact with them, attributing his distraction to a stock market ticker on his phone.
Allen was brought in for another interview on October 13, 2022, where he reiterated seeing three “juvenile girls” during his trek in 2017. A subsequent search of his home led police to seize a .40-caliber handgun. Testing revealed that an unspent bullet found near the location of the teenagers’ bodies had been cycled through Allen’s firearm. Despite this link, Allen claimed he had never visited the area where the bullet was located and offered no explanation for its presence.
The trial is currently under a gag order as mandated by Allen County Superior Court Judge Fran Gull, who is presiding over the case. The legal process has faced several interruptions, including a gag order due to leaked evidence and changes in Allen’s defense team, which were subsequently reinstated by the Indiana Supreme Court.