Delphi murders: Convicted killer Richard Allen sentenced to 130 years

(Delphi, Ind.) — Convicted Delphi, Indiana, killer Richard Allen was sentenced on Friday to 130 years in prison for the 2017 murders of two teenage girls as the victims’ families spoke out in court.

Allen was given 65 years for each murder, to run consecutively.

Last month, a jury found Allen guilty on all charges in the double homicide: felony murder for the killing of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams while attempting to commit kidnapping; felony murder for the killing of 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German while attempting to commit kidnapping; murder for knowingly killing Abby; and murder for knowingly killing Libby.

A gag order prevented the families of Abby and Libby from commenting during or after Allen’s trial.

Libby’s grandmother, Becky Patty, broke her silence on Friday, saying at sentencing, “I can never change my choice to let Libby and Abby go to the trails that day.”

“I hope he lives with the same fear he caused Abby and Libby in the last hour of their lives,” she said.

“You could’ve taken accountability,” Libby’s grandfather, Mike Patty, said to Allen. “You need to stand up and not appeal.”

Abby’s grandmother, Diane Erskin, said, “This is a day of great sadness for our family. We won’t be going home to celebrate with champagne.”

Nearly eight years since her granddaughter’s murder, Erskin said, “I’ve watched her friends graduate college and wonder how many great grandkids were murdered that day, too.”

Erskin said Abby’s last words in Libby’s phone were “don’t leave me up here,” so the grieving grandmother didn’t let herself leave the trial even during tough testimony.

The families, law enforcement and prosecutors are expected to address the public at a post-sentencing news conference on Friday.

Abby and Libby were walking along a Delphi hiking trail when they were attacked on Feb. 13, 2017. Their throats were slit and their bodies were dumped in the nearby woods.

Moments before the murders, Libby posted a photo of Abby on Snapchat showing her on the Monon High Bridge. After crossing the bridge, the girls saw a man behind them — who became known as “bridge guy” — and Libby started a recording on her phone, according to prosecutors.

As police looked for the suspect, they released footage from Libby’s phone to the public: a grainy image of “bridge guy” and an audio clip of him telling the girls to go “down the hill.”

Allen, a husband and father who worked at the local CVS, was arrested in 2022.

“He developed photos with no remorse and he didn’t blink,” Becky Patty said in court on Friday.

Allen admitted to police he was on the trail that day, but he denied being involved in the crime.

The prosecution’s key physical evidence was a .40-caliber unspent round discovered by the girls’ bodies. Police analysis determined that unspent round was cycled through Allen’s Sig Sauer Model P226, prosecutors said.

Another major focus of the trial was Allen’s multiple confessions in jail and his mental health at the time. The defense argued Allen was in a psychotic state when he confessed numerous times to his psychologist, corrections officers and his wife.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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