The 2017 murders of 13-year-old Abigail (Abby) Williams and 14-year-old Liberty (Libby) German rocked the small town of Delphi, Indiana. The story picked up speed and got national media attention very quickly, mostly due to a video taken on Libby's cell phone seemingly depicting the suspect. Now, five years after the murders, we may finally be getting answers to some of the questions we all have.
On October 26, 2022, authorities arrested 50 year old Richard Allen for the teenagers' murders. Allen is a well known resident in Delphi, where he lives with his wife Kathy, and is a licensed pharmacy technician employed by the only pharmacy in town, a CVS.
Carrie Timmons, Libby German's mother, spoke out after the arrest saying, "You had to know the area the get in and out. It just seems logical that they had some kind of local ties at the very least. I didn't expect him to literally be living right under everyone's noses."
And it appears that's exactly what Richard Allen was doing.
Neighbors of Allen's have spoken with authorities, and with the media, and not one of them have had a bad thing to say about the married father of two. One neighbor was quoted telling The Post, "I swear to you he seemed like a great person." Adding he and his wife were both "very nice".
Most neighbors were taken completely by surprise at Allen's arrest, however, neighbors did say uniformed police officers searched the Allen residence about 10 days before police took him into custody. They would go on to say police were at the house for around 12 hours, and were especially focused on the burn pit in the backyard of the couple's home.
Another Delphi local, CJ's Bar and Grill owner Bob Matlock, recalled Allen and his wife Kathy would often come into his establishment before it was closed in December of 2021, and that often the conversation would turn to the murdered girls. He explained, "He would come in and we would always talk about the girls and everything. We would carry on conversations about it, and he would say, you know, "It’s such a tragedy," and we'd say we were sorry for the families and all that…"
The former bar owner would share a haunting photo of Allen posing with his wife in front of a police poster with an artist's rendering of the Delphi murder suspect. Matlock would go on to say he didn't believe Allen resembled the drawing, and that the cell phone video including the suspect saying, "Down the hill," didn't sound like Richard to him either. Bob Matlock described Richard Allen as "quiet" and "friendly", and said his wife Kathy worked as a veterinarian.
Libby's grandmother would tell media that she remembers Allen processing photos for the family in 2017 at the CVS, saying he didn't even charge them for the photos. That would have been the same year as the murders, and coincidentally the same year he received his pharmacy technician's license.
The arrest has rocked the small town of 3,000 residents almost as much as the murders did; locals have been left reeling, and with a collective feeling of shock.
Allen has pled not guilty to the charges of murder, and during one court appearance told the court he would hire his own legal team, turning down the right to court appointed counsel. However, just recently, a letter he penned to the court was uncovered and in it he begged the judge to appoint him a public defender. Allen explained he had "no clue" how expensive a lawyer would be. It's unknown when the letter was written, but court papers filed last week do reflect Allen has requested a court appointed attorney.
Allen's trial is scheduled to take place in early 2023.
Do you think the victims' families will finally get justice?
Delphi Murder Suspect Richard Allen, 50, posing in front of police poster with artist rendering of suspect
Left: Abigail Williams, 13 Right: Liberty German, 14