Trial to begin Monday for man accused of killing two teen girls in Delphi, Indiana in 2017

ByEmily Shapiro and Whitney Lloyd WLS logo
Sunday, October 13, 2024
Trial to begin Monday for man accused of killing teen girls in Delphi
Trial to begin Monday for man accused of killing teen girls in DelphiIn the latest Delphi murders update, the Richard Allen trial is set to begin Monday. He is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in 2017.

DELPHI, Ind. -- More than seven years since the mysterious murders of two teenage girls in Indiana, the man charged with their deaths will go on trial on Monday.

The double murder trial of Richard Allen, accused of the 2017 Delphi, Indiana murders, was delayed several months less than a week before jury selection was to begin back in May.

SEE ALSO | Judge rules accused Delphi killer Richard Allen's alleged confessions can be used as trial evidence

In a pretrial motions hearing on Tuesday, May 7, defense attorneys for Allen withdrew their motion for a speedy trial, citing concerns over having enough time to present their case.

The trial was scheduled to begin May 13, and was expected to last three weeks.

The defense estimated they needed 15 working days to present their case and felt the May window was not long enough, so they withdrew their motion filed earlier this year.

READ MORE | Delphi murders: Prosecutors file motion to ban certain words during Richard Allen's trial

The trial's new start date was set for Oct. 14.

On Feb. 13, 2017, best friends Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14, were enjoying a day off from school in their hometown of Delphi, a quiet, small town of nearly 3,000 residents in central Indiana.

They were on a hiking trail, walking, chatting and snapping photos, when they disappeared.

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Their bodies were found the next day.

For more than five years, the case remained unsolved, haunting Delphi residents.

No suspect was named in the murders until Allen was arrested in October 2022.

SEE ALSO | Delphi murders: What the unsealed documents reveal and the questions that remain

Allen admitted to police that he was on the trail that day, but he denied any involvement in the murders, according to court documents.

Police analysis of Allen's gun determined that the unspent round discovered within 2 feet of one of the victims "had been cycled through Richard M. Allen's Sig Sauer Model P226," the probable cause affidavit said.

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