On Monday morning, the Indiana State Police (ISP) announced that a suspect had been taken into custody in connection with the 2017 Delphi murders. The suspect has been identified as Richard M. Allen.
Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty “Libby” German, 14, were found dead on February 14, 2017, close to the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, Indiana. The previous day, the two closest pals had vanished off the route.
The girls were thought to have been murdered, and while investigators continued to look for suspects, the story gained national attention. When German’s smartphone was discovered, it revealed footage and audio recorded by the victim in which a mysterious figure, presumed to be their murderer, could be seen and heard. This discovery gave the case a particularly unsettling tone.
POLICE CONFIRMED RICHARD ALLEN IS IN CUSTODY FOR THE DELPHI MURDERS.#TrueCrime #DelphiMurders #Indiana #AbbyandLibby pic.twitter.com/THtUAbtPHM
— Chicago Murder Museum (@ChiMurderMuseum) October 31, 2022
The ISP held a news conference on Monday to announce that an arrest had finally been made after more than five years of investigation. Allen, 50, was detained at the Carroll County Jail after his arrest on Wednesday. He was transferred to a state facility and later charged with two charges of murder. At his initial court appearance, Allen pleaded 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?
Other than announcing his identity and the allegations against him on Monday, the ISP withheld most other information regarding Allen. According to Carter, Allen’s arrest affidavit has been temporarily sealed, so it is now unknown what made authorities suspect him.
A select few people who may be connected to the Delphi murders have surfaced throughout time. Never was Allen’s name listed among them. Allen was eventually discovered living near Delphi, close to where Williams and German were discovered dead, despite the investigators casting a wide net across Indiana and even into other states.
According to online documents obtained by The Independent and other publications, Allen originally moved to Delphi in 2006 and had lived there ever since. The suspect, who is reportedly married, received his pharmacy license in 2018 and has been employed as a pharmacy technician ever since. Residents who talked with Fox 59 News said that Allen worked at a nearby CVS where he interacted with many people from the neighborhood.
“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.
