Seven years after Abby Williams and Libby German disappeared in Indiana, alleged killer Richard Allen faces trial
Abby Williams and Libby German were killed while on a hike near their hometown of Delphi in 2017.
Liberty German, when she noticed a strange man following her and her best friend, did what any 14-year-old would do.
She took out her phone and started recording.
Liberty, called Libby by loved ones, and 13-year-old Abigail Williams disappeared during a hike near their hometown in Indiana, US, on February 13, 2017.
Their bodies were found a day later.
The video and audio captured by Libby in the moments before her death would go on to fuel a five-year hunt for their killer.
Now, seven years after their disappearance, the man accused of murdering the two girls is set to go on trial.
'I remember us just being so happy in the car'
Libby and Abby were both eighth-graders at Delphi Community Middle School, enjoying a four-day winter break.
Libby had played on softball, soccer, volleyball and swimming teams. She was in the school band and competed in academic competitions.
Her sister, Kelsi German, said she and her little sister had been excited to start swimming together when Libby started high school the following year.
Liberty German.
Abby played the saxophone in the school band and was a member of the volleyball team.
She loved reading, photography, animals and the outdoors.
That February 13 was an unseasonably warm winter day — the last day of their short winter break — and the girls decided they wanted to take advantage of it.
Kelsi German said the girls had had a sleepover the night before and "been up all night laughing".
"It was like midnight the night before and they were still up and I was about to pass out," she said in a 2022 interview.
"I was upstairs [that day] in the bathroom getting ready, when Libby bursts in … we were so close we didn't know privacy, that wasn't a thing for us.
Abby Williams.
"She says, 'hey, do you want to go to High Bridge today [and] hang out'.
"Unfortunately … I had plans [but] a little while later she asked if I could drop them off [and] I said I would, if she could find a ride home."
Monon High Bridge was an abandoned bridge running over Deer Creek, part of historic hiking trails in the girls' home town of Delphi, Indiana.
Abby and Libby agreed to meet back at the beginning of the trail at 3pm, so Libby's father could pick them up.
"I remember us just being so happy in the car and listening to Twenty-One Pilots, and the windows were open, and it was just so warm," Kelsi said.
"And she got out of the car and told me she loved me."
At 2.07pm, Libby posted a photo on Snapchat, showing Abby on the bridge.
When Derrick German arrived at 3.15pm, the girls were not waiting for him.
Calls to Libby's phone went unanswered.
A killer's instructions: 'Guys … down the hill'
The police were called and the search for the girls began that afternoon, before being called off around midnight.
It began again the following morning.
The image released by police, taken from Libby's phone.
At 12.15pm on February 14, according to Indiana State Police, a search team found the bodies of both girls approximately 800m upstream from the bridge.
Their cause of death has not been made public.
Days later, the police released an image and a three-word audio clip they said had been taken from Libby's phone.
In the recording, a man's voice could be heard saying: "Down the hill."
The image was a screenshot of a man walking with his head down and his hands in his pockets.
Police would receive tens of thousands of tips from the public in the months that followed.
They also released a composite sketch of their potential suspect.
By this time, the local police, the local sheriff's department, the state police and the FBI were involved with the investigation.
Despite the volume of tip-offs and a reward that was repeatedly increased, no arrests were made.
In 2019, Indiana State Police announced they were taking the investigation in a new direction.
They released a new sketch, a new clip, and a slightly extended audio — adding the word "guys" before the original, "down the hill".
Superintendent Doug Carter used the announcement to speak directly to the killer, "who may be in this room".
"We believe you are hiding in plain sight," he said.
"For more than two years, you never thought we would shift gears to a different investigative strategy, but we have.
"We likely have interviewed you, or someone close to you. We know that this is about power to you.
"And you want to know what we know. Well, one day, you will.
"A question to you: What will those closest to you think of you, when they find out that you brutally murdered two little girls?
"Two children. Only a coward would do such a thing."
Man allegedly seen in 'muddy and bloody' clothes
On October 31, 2022, more than five years after Libby and Abby were murdered, police announced they had made an arrest.
Richard Matthew Allen, 50, lived in Delphi with his wife and worked at a local CVS pharmacy.
Libby's aunt told CNN that Mr Allen had once helped her print photos for Libby's funeral.
"I was a mess trying to get the images off my phone," Tara German said.
"Once they were printed, [Allen] looked at me and said, 'I'm not gonna charge you for this'."
Mr Allen pleaded not guilty. In a statement, his lawyers said he had "nothing to hide".
An arrest warrant unsealed by a judge in December 2022 revealed others on the trail had said they encountered a man dressed similarly to the man in Libby's video.
Also included in the arrest warrant was a statement from a man who had interviewed Mr Allen in 2017, in which he allegedly admitted he had been "on the trail between 1330–1530".
"On October 13th, 2022, Richard Allen was interviewed again by investigators," the arrest warrant said.
"He told investigators that he was wearing blue jeans and a blue or black Carhartt jacket with a hood [and] may have been wearing some type of head covering as well."
A search of Mr Allen's home allegedly uncovered "jackets, boots, knives and firearms, including a Sig Sauer Model P226".
Although police have said the girls were killed with a "sharp object", an unspent round found near the crime scene was allegedly a match to the gun found in Mr Allen's home.
"Investigators believe he was seen … walking back to his vehicle [with] clothes that were muddy and bloody," the warrant continued.
According to court documents released in June 2023, Mr Allen allegedly confessed to killing the girls during a phone call to his wife from prison on April 3.
Mr Allen's lawyers have attributed his statements to his declining mental health and the stressful environment inside the correctional facility.
The judge overseeing the trial has ruled the statements will be heard by the jury.
Photos and video barred from Richard Allen's trial
Many details surrounding the case have been kept sealed in the lead-up to the trial.
Anyone who might have information, including Abby and Libby's families, has been barred from speaking publicly under a strict gag order that has been in place since 2022.
Jury selection is set to begin on October 14, likely to last three days.
Richard Allen has been incarcerated since his arrest.
After selection, court proceedings are expected to last about a month.
It will not be streamed live and photo, video, and audio recording equipment has been banned from the courtroom.
In the now seven years since Abby and Libby were killed, the case has garnered global attention — inspiring podcasts and documentaries.
Every year, the girls' families join a local church to hold a food drive in honour of them.
In 2021, the Delphi community came together for the opening of the Abby & Libby Memorial Park.
The park, built using an estimated $US400,000 ($590,000) in donations, has since hosted concerts, softball games and other events.
Mike Patty, Libby's grandfather, told local media he hoped it would be a place for the community to gather.
"I want [it] to have a positive impact," he said.
"It's a legacy, it's their name, their story, and they get remembered."
Anna Williams, Abby's mother, told WRTV she had been getting calls from people offering to help.
"The amphitheatre, that was my one thing that [I thought] would be the coolest," she said.
"Give kids a place to play their music. [Abby] was constantly prancing around the house. Now she'd have a stage to do it.
"It's a beautiful place. I think if the girls had been there, physically with us, they would have had a ball."
By：https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-13/delphi-murders-abby-libby-latest/104460388(责任编辑：admin)
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