DELPHI, Ind. — Richard Allen was found guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of murder in the high-profile Delphi murder trial, according to CNN affiliate WTHR.

Prosecutors say Allen killed Abigail “Abby” Williams, 13, and Liberty “Libby” German, 14, by cutting their throats and leaving their bodies near a trail in Delphi, Indiana. The case remained cold for more than five years until Allen was arrested in 2022.

Richard Allen sat emotionless as the guilty verdict was read, WTHR reported. His sentencing date is scheduled for December 20.

The jury deliberated for approximately 19 hours before reaching a verdict.

Allen could face up to 130 years in prison, the Associated Press reported.

A mandate of silence remains in effect, so no officials can speak after the verdict.

The 12-person jury, which had been sequestered during the trial, began deliberating Thursday afternoon after 17 days of testimony. The judge asked them to deliberate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday until they reached a verdict.

Allen County Superior Court Judge Frances Gull gave jurors their final instructions Thursday morning and urged them to “consider the facts” before Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland makes closing arguments finals, guiding the jury through the evidence and testimony presented during the trial, CNN affiliate WTHR reported. reported.

“I believe the evidence is strongly convincing that Richard Allen is ‘Bridge Guy’ and that he killed Abby and Libby,” McLeland told the jury, referring to a video taken from Libby’s phone showing a man walking on the Monon High Bridge Trail. Delphi law enforcement has long believed that the “Bridge Guy” shown in the video is the prime suspect in this case.

McLeland showed jurors graphic photos of the girls’ bodies, the “Bridge Guy” video that he said captured the final moments of the girls’ lives, and a recording of Allen allegedly confessing to his wife during a call telephone from the prison, according to WTHR. .

“I did it,” Allen could be heard telling his wife. “I killed Abby and Libby.”

Defense attorney Brad Rozzi, in closing arguments, said a missed timeline, false confessions and a lack of DNA or weapons evidence should lead to acquittal.

“The defense believes that what you have heard over the past few weeks is more important than what you are hearing today,” Rozzi told the jury Thursday, according to WTHR.

The defense further argued that no physical evidence linked Allen to the murders and said confessions he made in the past were “false” and the result of months in solitary confinement while his mental health deteriorated. was deteriorating.

The Delphi murder case dates back to February 13, 2017, when Abby and Libby went for a hike on the Monon High Bridge in Delphi. Both girls were reported missing after failing to meet Libby’s father that afternoon. The next day their bodies were found, both dead from cuts to their throats and partially covered with sticks.

The case gained public attention in part because of a suspect’s video and audio recording taken from Libby’s smartphone. The video shows a man walking across the bridge with his hands in his pockets, and the audio includes a man’s muffled voice saying, “Guys, down the hill.” Although police released the audio and a photo from the video just days after the murders and identified the “Bridge Guy” as their prime suspect, the case remained cold for more than five years until Allen be arrested in 2022.

Allen had apparently escaped police attention, remaining in the small town of Delphi and working at a local CVS pharmacy, until an employee scanning information related to the investigation in September 2022 noticed that he had placed himself at the scene of the crime. Just days after the bodies were discovered, Allen told police he was on the trail when the girls were allegedly killed.

Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett said that despite the information, Allen “got lost in the cracks,” according to CNN affiliate WLFI. About a month after the tip was rediscovered, Allen was arrested after police compared an unused cartridge found between the girls’ bodies to a gun recovered from his home during a police search.

After Allen was arrested on October 26, 2022, he was charged with two counts of murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping five days later. Prosecutors later amended the charges to include two additional counts of murder.

Allen’s confession – and his mental health at the time he made it – shed light
During the trial, the prosecution highlighted Allen’s dozens of confessions during his incarceration: he confessed to the crime more than 60 times, according to prosecutors, including to his wife, to his mother, to the psychologist who cared for, the warden and other prison employees. and detainees. They played audio recordings of some confessions for the jury.

Monica Wala, the former lead psychologist at the Westville Correctional Center where Allen was housed, said he initially told her he was innocent, but began confessing to the crimes in April 2023, at around the time he was put back on suicide watch.

Wala testified that Allen told him, “I killed Abby and Libby.” I’m sorry,” according to CNN affiliate WTHR. He said he initially planned to sexually assault the victims, but fled when he saw a van nearby, and slit the girls’ throats and covered their bodies with sticks, she testified.

The defense sought to portray Allen as mentally ill whose fragile mental state was exacerbated by months spent in solitary confinement, including during the period he confessed to the crimes. He was twice placed on suicide watch while incarcerated, exhibited bizarre behaviors, such as eating his own feces and banging his head, and was at one point diagnosed as suffering from a “brief psychotic disorder.” ”, according to Wala’s testimony.

Testifying for the defense, Deanna Dwenger, a clinical psychologist who worked for the Indiana Department of Corrections’ Behavioral Health Department, said Allen was diagnosed with serious mental illness in April 2023 and a team of mental health professionals concluded that he suffered from a “severe disability”. according to CNN affiliate WRTV.

The defense originally hoped to introduce a defense of “Odinism”: a theory that followers of Odinism, a Norse pagan religion recently adopted by white supremacists, committed the murders. But Judge Gull has repeatedly denied motions to introduce this theory.

Prosecutors focus on audio recordings and bullet found at scene
Despite Allen’s confession, very little physical evidence links him to the case: a DNA expert testifying for the state found no DNA from Allen at the crime scene, and no DNA from Libby or ‘Abby was found on items recovered from his home.

Prosecutors pointed to the unused .40-caliber cartridge found in the girls’ bodies, which a prosecution expert said matched Allen’s gun. The defense questioned the bullet evidence, questioning why more footage of the cartridge wasn’t taken and suggesting the bullet could have come from a law enforcement officer’s gun , according to WRTV.

The prosecution also attempted to match Allen with the video and audio recording of the “Bridge Guy” captured on Libby’s cell phone. Indiana State Police Petty Officer Brian Harshman, who said he listened to more than 700 of Allen’s phone calls while in prison, testified for the prosecution that, in his opinion, “the voice of the ‘Bridge Guy ‘ is the voice of Richard Allen,” according to WRTV. .

“Richard Allen is ‘Bridge Guy,'” McLeland told jurors. “He kidnapped them and then murdered them.”

In response, Rozzi said Allen was not clearly identified by witnesses as the man on the hiking trail or bridge when the teens disappeared. He also pointed out that Allen was still living in Delphi for more than five years after the girls’ murder.

“He had every chance to run, but he didn’t because he didn’t,” Rozzi told jurors.

ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.

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