On Monday, February 13, 2017 friends Abigail Williams (Abby) and Liberty German (Libby) left their nearby home mid afternoon to go walk a local trail. After not returning for several hours and not answering their phones, their parents called the local police department and filed a missing persons report.

The next day police had informed the family that the bodies of two girls were discovered in a ditch near Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, Indiana. Around 5-10 minutes from home. It wasn’t until Wednesday, February 15, 2017 that the Indiana State PD confirmed it in fact was the bodies of Abby and Libby that had been discovered the day prior. 

With the days that followed the small town of Delphi was in shock and horror with double murder case being unveiled in their back yard. The first man that was seen as a suspect in the case was Ronald Logan(77). With having a property adjacent to the trails he was the first person police saw as having possible involvement. 

On February 16, 2017 Indiana State PD retained a search warrant and proceeded to search his property. This included his house, barn, pick-up truck, computer, and cellphone. When the search came back with nothing incriminating the police decided to further not label Logan as a suspect. 

Logan had also told local news channel, 13News that “the area they were in was very hard to get to. I mean, you can’t get there unless you walk there, Somebody had to be walking with them or something”. With given his physical condition police had more reason to take their eyes off of him as a suspect and focus on someone else.

Years past without any updates, besides an audio recording that wasnt uncovered until a little after the murders occurred. When police released Liberty German’s phone, the family uncovered a deleted audio recording of a man saying “Guys… down the hill”. The recording was released to the public and the extended version can be accessed here. 

In December of 2021 a fake social media account under the username @anthony_shots was discovered to have been communicating with the girls days before the murders. With analysis the police were able to trace the account back to a Kegan Kline, who was also traced back to being a suspect in a child porn case a few weeks prior. However, after he presented authorities with a solid alibi he was ruled out as a suspect. 

It wasn’t until two weeks ago, October 26, 2022 that a suspect was fully taken into custody and not just questioned. Richard Allen, 50, a local resident of Delphi was taken into custody by authorities after his property was searched weeks earlier. 

According to neighbors, who choose to go anonymous, police arrived at his home on October 13th late in the evening. They presented him with a piece of paper, then searched the home and left with bundles of cloth/clothing, a stack of books, a shopping bag, and a shoebox.

During this whole ordeal said neighbors asked deputies if they should be concerned,deputies responded with “Just remain vigilant, especially with your wife and daughters”.

Law enforcement then preceded to set up lights in his backyard, search it thoroughly with a metal detector, while Allen was detained in the front yard. In the eye of the community Richard was described as a normal guy. He lived with his wife and pet cat, and had a job at a local CVS.

This makes this case even more uncomfortable knowing that Libby’s aunt, Tara German, was a regular at the convenient store and when preparing for her nieces funeral she went to print out photos and Richard was the one to help her with the printing process. 

Tara told WTHR News “I went into the store to print photos of Libby for the funeral. And he was the one who helped me. I was a mess trying to get the images off my phone. Once they were printed, he looked at me and said, ‘I’m not gonna charge you for this’”.

Allen is currently in custody at White County Jail and has a trial set for March 20, 2023. He is currently being charged with two accounts of felony murder. According to the state statute, being charged with felony murder means “while being charged with murder you must have also been committing another crime such as arson, burglary, child molesting, consumer product tampering, criminal deviate conduct, kidnapping, rape, robbery, human trafficking, promotion of human trafficking, sexual trafficking of a minor, or carjacking”.

As of the date this article is published Richard is not eligible for bond. Doug Carter, an Indiana State Police Superintendent, told reporters at FOX59 on October 31, “Today is not a day to celebrate, but the arrest…. Is sure a major step in leading to a conclusion of this long term and complex investigation.”