Charges announced in slayings of Indiana girls that have vexed community nearly 6 years

Police in Northern Indiana announced murder charges Monday in the February 2017 killings of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13.

Richard Allen, 50, of Delphi, Indiana, has been charged with two counts of murder, authorities said.

Allen is being held without bail and has entered a preliminary plea of not guilty, Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland said Monday at a news conference.

McLeland said all evidence in the case has been sealed by court order.

“Everybody wants to know more information. I know it’s frustrating, but my goal is to maintain the integrity of this case,” he said, adding that the investigation continues and investigators are still welcoming tips.

Indiana State Police via AP

Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby and Indiana State Police Supt. Doug Carter said the investigation has been emotional for all involved.

“I believe in a God of justice and righteousness. Today I believe that that same God has provided us with justice for Abby and Libby,” Leazenby said.

Carter, who took a moment to compose himself while speaking, said “Abby and Libby, though in death, have had a profound effect on so many of us, on how we live, and as importantly, who we all should be.”

The deaths of Libby and Abby were ruled a double homicide, but police have never disclosed how they died or described what evidence they gathered.

A pretrial hearing in the murder case against Allen has been set for Jan. 13, and a trial date for March 20.

Libby’s grandmother, Becky Patty, told reporters that Allen once processed photos for the family at the CVS store in Delphi where Allen worked. He didn’t charge them for the photos, she added.

The families always knew that the suspect could have been “living right amongst us, hiding in plain sight,” said Libby’s grandfather, Mike Patty. “That’s why we never stopped searching anywhere, because we didn’t know where he was.”

The Pattys wore gray shirts that read “Today is the Day ... Justice will be served for Abby and Libby,” to the news conference Monday.

A statement from CVS said the company is “shocked and saddened to learn that one of our store employees was arrested as a suspect in these crimes. We stand ready to cooperate with the police investigation in any way we can.”

“We remain devastated by these murders and our hearts go out to the German and Williams families,” the statement said.

No one answered the door Monday at Allen’s house, on a street of single-family homes where some put “Keep Out” signs in their yards.

The bodies of Liberty and Abigail, who were best friends, were found in a rugged area near a hiking trail on Feb. 14, 2017, one day after they vanished while walking on that trail near the Monon High Bridge. That bridge is just outside their hometown of Delphi, about 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis.

Within days of the killings, investigators released two grainy photos of a suspect walking on the abandoned railroad bridge the girls had visited and an audio recording of a man believed to be the suspect saying “down the hill.”

Authorities have since released two sketches of the suspected killer, including one in April 2019 based on video from Liberty’s cellphone that’s believed to be more accurate than a sketch released in July 2017.

Police also released video in April 2019 which shows the man suspected of killing the teens walking on the abandoned railroad bridge the girls had visited.

In December 2021, state police announced they were seeking information from people who had contact with someone who used a fictitious online profile to communicate with young girls.

State police said at that time that investigators probing Liberty and Abigail’s deaths had uncovered a fictitious online profile named “anthony_shots” that was used from 2016 to 2017 on Snapchat, Instagram and other social media platforms.

Contributing: The Associated Press