DELPHI, Ind. — Richard Allen, a resident of Delphi, Indiana, was found guilty of all charges Monday in the double murders of best friends Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14.

The jury’s verdict came on the fourth day of deliberations in the high-profile case that shocked the nation.

“It’s strange. It’s uncomfortable. It’s a scary feeling to be so close to something so horrible,” said Delphi resident Kaitlyn Cotner. “Over the years, we haven’t heard much about the true details of what happened. It finally came to light and we found out how horrible it was for them.”

Allen was stoic in court and did not react to the verdict, but his mother and wife sobbed: ABC News reported.

Allen was convicted of murder for killing Abigail Williams while she attempted to commit a kidnapping; felony murder for the killing of Liberty German while attempting to commit a kidnapping; murder for knowingly killing Abigail Williams; and murder for knowingly killing Liberty German.

Relief settled over the small Indiana town.

It’s been over seven and a half years of grief, anxiety and uncertainty.

“Today is the big day. It’s been a long time,” Delphi resident Sarah Ausbrook told ABC News. “Always believe in prayer. I just had a positive feeling that God was going to lead them, lead them in the direction they needed to go.”

She praised prosecutors, saying they “did an outstanding job presenting the evidence they had.”

“Today to me means major healing for this community,” Ausbrook said. “I’m sure families are reliving this pain, but also rejoicing that they have an answer.”

But it was no easy task: a two-and-a-half-year investigation or a four-week trial.

A warrant of silence is in place, preventing the girls’ families from commenting until the sentence is handed down.

Allen’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 20.

Williams and German were killed on a local hiking trail on February 13, 2017. The girls had their throats cut and dumped in a wooded area near the trail. Their bodies were found the next day.

“In this community, as you notice, a lot of them had signs on their door. They supported these families all these years. We did so many fundraisers. They were part of the community,” he said. Ausbrook said.

On the day of the murders, German posted a photo of Williams on Snapchat as they crossed the Monon High Bridge. After the girls crossed the bridge, they saw a man behind them and German started a recording on his phone, according to prosecutor Nick McLeland.

As police searched for a culprit, they released a clip of the unknown suspect’s voice – a recording of him saying “down the hill” – which was recovered from German’s phone. Police also released a grainy image of the suspect on the trail: a man known as “the bridge guy.”

The jury of eight women and four men considered this evidence, among other testimony, over four days at the Carroll County Courthouse.

Allen, who was arrested for murder in 2022, admitted to police that he was on the trail that day, but he denied any involvement in the crime.

Allen’s numerous prison confessions and his mental health at the time became a major focus of the trial.

The defense argued that Allen was in a psychotic state when he made numerous confessions to corrections officers, his wife and a psychologist.

“I hope they found the right guy? I can’t be sure. Honestly, I think he’s innocent,” Devin Chapin said. “I hope I’m wrong. I hope there’s no one here running around.”

The prosecution’s primary evidence was police analysis of Allen’s gun, which determined that an unspent .40 caliber cartridge discovered by the girls’ bodies had been passed to Allen’s Sig Sauer Model P226 . But the defense dismissed the accuracy of that test, calling it an “apples to oranges” comparison, because the technician compared the initial bullet — which had been cycled and not fired — to a bullet fired from the weapon of Allen.

No DNA was found at the site to link Allen or anyone else to the crime scene, a medical examiner testified.

“The absence of DNA here was clearly an obstacle that the prosecution had to overcome, and it was clearly at the center of the defense’s argument. And for good reason, the jurors expect it. But this case teaches us that you can win the case “As a state, as a government, without DNA evidence, if you have some other type of evidence that they have enough and in this case, again, a confession, they’re going to. very far away,” said Gil Soffer, political analyst at ABC7 Chicago.

With Allen locked up and sentenced, Delphi can truly begin to heal.

“Tonight we will be able to go to sleep knowing that we are all safe again, knowing that we can once again wonder and look at each other in the hands of love and help. Man will now be put behind bars for what he did,” resident Timothy Harper said. “I believe this town had a lot of love waiting for this day, and we are now one.”

The symbols of hope around Delphi will become signs of healing and lasting memories of the murdered girls.

Allen will likely be locked up for the rest of his life.

“It’s a permanent scar that’s going to stay here. It’s not going to leave anyone in this city,” Cotner said.

Alex Perez of ABC News and Liz Nagy of ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.