Delphi, Indiana — In a striking turn of events, the long-standing mystery surrounding the deaths of two Indiana middle school students took a dramatic twist with the arrest of Richard Allen, who had previously reached out to police saying he was in the area the day the girls died. This confession, misplaced for years, resurfaced in 2022 when a volunteer sorting through investigation tips found the critical piece of information, igniting a chain of investigative steps leading to Allen’s charge.
In 2017, Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, were found dead after a day out on the Delphi Historic Trails, marking a somber day remembered by the small town community. Initially, Richard Allen, a 52-year-old who once worked at CVS, proactively contacted law enforcement to report his presence near the scene on the tragic day. However, this lead was inadvertently dismissed and marked “cleared” in the law enforcement databases.
The oversight came to light when Kathy Shank, a retired receptionist volunteering to assist with the case, stumbled upon a mislabeled tip under the name “Richard Allen Whiteman.” Correcting the error, Shank alerted detectives, which rekindled the focus on Allen as a person of interest. This move proved crucial as subsequent investigations brought forward unsettling evidence against him.
Testimony provided by Dan Dulin, a conservation officer who first took Allen’s statement, highlighted that Allen had been walking on the trails during the time frame of the girls’ disappearance. Allen’s detailed account of his whereabouts and the sighting of three girls on the trails did not initially raise suspicions.
The case saw a significant break when current Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett, acting on the rediscovered lead, managed to align witness statements with the presence of a man referred to as “the bridge guy,” a figure caught in a haunting Snapchat video recorded by one of the victims. This video, which had circulated as a key piece of evidence, showed a man walking on the trail bridge wearing jeans and a dark jacket, fitting the general description previously associated with Allen.
Further complicating the defense’s stance, Liberty’s friend, Railly Voorhies, testified that she had greeted a man fitting the suspect’s description on the trail that day. Her court testimony emphasized the possible influence of the bridge guy’s image on her recollection, lending a nuanced angle to the ongoing proceedings.
Amidst these revelations, the validity of Allen’s initial voluntary cooperation with the police surfaced during the trial. His attorney questioned whether Allen’s approach to the authorities was a genuine attempt to assist the investigation, an inquiry that was quickly shut down by the prosecution and judge, indicating contentious points yet to be resolved.
Investigators also delved back into Allen’s narrative consistency during a follow-up interview led by former Delphi Police Chief Steve Mullin. Allen’s assertion that he couldn’t be the person in the Snapchat video as it was taken by one of the victims’ phones did little to clear his growing suspicions.
A critical piece of evidence emerged when a search warrant executed at Allen’s home uncovered a .40 caliber Sig Sauer handgun. Ballistics experts linked a bullet found near the victims’ bodies to this weapon, solidifying the grim connection between Allen and the crime.
As the community of Delphi watches closely, the court trials continue to unravel the layers of this complex case, piecing together the forgotten interactions and overlooked evidence that have finally centered on Richard Allen as the prime suspect in the horrifying demise of two young lives forever altering the fabric of the small Indiana town.