SERIALously - 28: The Delphi Murders of Abby and Libby | Richard Allen Confesses and Eats Legal Documents?

Episode Date: June 30, 2023

Bonus Episode! On February 13, 2017, the small town of Delphi, Indiana, home to around 3,000 people, became the center of a chilling double murder that went unsolved for years. A story that some people were secretly fearing would go cold. The tragedy unfolded as two young girls, Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14, went to walk on the Monon High Bridge Trail. Their bodies were found the next day in a deeply disturbing manner. 5 years later, an arrest was made, and now newly unsealed bombshell court documents reveal new insights into the case and a jailhouse confession.  Your True Crime BFF, Annie Elise  Link to deep dive episode: https://youtu.be/e0LgIu6dUyg All Social Media Links: https://www.flowcode.com/page/annieelise_ About Me: https://annieelise.com/ For Business Inquiries: [e-mail]

Hey true crime besties, welcome back to an all new episode of Serialistly. hey true crime besties welcome back to an all-new episode of serialistly with me annie your true crime bestie here to break down a case for you today that so many of you guys have been requesting now i was going to wait and put this episode in the normal release schedule on Monday, but I knew that so many of you guys wanted this, so I figured, what the hell? Let's just come on here and do a bonus episode. Let's talk about it because there have been some massive, massive updates and some crazy confessions in the Delphi case. Now, if you're not familiar with the Delphi case that's okay. I did a full deep dive over on my YouTube not too long ago so what I will do is I will link that episode in the show notes below that way you can listen to it on whether you're driving as a podcast however you want or you can

actually watch it because there's a lot of video footage in there too and photos but that way you can get fully caught up with the case if you're like uh hi Annie I have no idea what you're talking about so I'll put that in the show notes but basically on February 13th 2017 the small town of Delphi Indiana home to around 3,000 people very small town became the center of a very chilling double murder that went unsolved for a long time, a story that some people were secretly fearing would go cold. The tragedy unfolded as two young girls, Abby Williams, who is 13 years old, and Libby German, who is 14 years old, went on a walk on the Monon High Bridge Trail. That afternoon, Abby and Libby walked to the Monon High Bridge, an abandoned

railroad bridge over Deer Creek. While there, the two girls did what any teen girls do. They took some pictures of each other on Libby's cell phone, took some selfies, and posted some pictures to Snapchat. While hanging out and minding their own business, they noticed a man walking toward them from the other end of the bridge. Libby had her phone in her hand, and for some reason, she had the gut instinct to act and decided to take some pictures and even caught some video footage of this man as he got closer and closer to them. Among these videos and images was a hauntingly blurry image and a brief audio recording of a man directing the girls saying, guys down the hill. And that was the last time that the two girls were ever seen alive. Now as I mentioned, I did a deep dive episode on this case previously,

and there are a lot of complexities in this case, such as some suggested and alleged pedophiles involved in this, some fake online accounts belonging to a character named Anthony Schatz, who there seems to be some tie to Richard Allen, the man we're talking about today. So again, for this episode, it's going to be mainly the updates and now Richard's confession in this case, where he actually confessed to his wife about these murders. But because there are so many details, I just really highly suggest if you're not familiar that you go take a look at that other episode. So that afternoon, Abby and Libby were supposed to be picked up by a family member later on, and when the time had come to pick them up, they never returned to that meetup point.

So as the hours passed and there was no sign of Abby and Libby, the sickening feeling of not being able to find them turned into a full-blown nightmare for their family. It was unlike Abby and Libby to just run off and not tell anyone what was going on or where they were going, so something seriously had to be wrong. The girls' families immediately initiated a search, which was later joined by law enforcement. Eventually, there was a full search party in motion looking for Abby and Libby, but by the time night fell, they still weren't found. Sadly, the next day on February 14, 2017, everyone's worst fears turned into a heartbreaking reality because Abby and Libby were found about a

half mile upstream from the bridge that they were walking at, near a creek bed in the woods, and they were dead. Even more disturbingly, their bodies were found 0.2 miles from their last location on the Monon High Bridge. In the aftermath, a nationwide spotlight and very intense fear surrounded Delphi. Federal, state, and local investigators got behind the case to find the person that killed these two young teenage girls, but at first, law enforcement needed some help. Libby's phone was found near her body, and they were able to recover the video that she took of that man, which police then released to the public in hopes of identifying who this man could possibly be. The man was dressed in a

loose blue jean kind of denim pant and then also a navy jacket. They also released a sketch as well, but they were never able to identify a direct suspect. Later on in 2019, another sketch was released that gave a much different age range than the one before. And now that it had been two years, nothing solid ever came of it. Law enforcement was extremely tight-lipped in this case, not releasing much of anything to the media, the public, or even the victims' families. Unfortunately, though, the not knowing only made the public wonder more about why things weren't being released, and some people began to think the worst. Was it a cult murder?

How were they killed? Were they sexually abused? There were so many rumors about the state of the bodies and the state of the girls' condition that it was really hard to make sense of anything, because nobody knew. All we knew is that the scene was considered very bloody and that their bodies looked placed, almost like they were staged, and some clothing

was also missing from the scene. They didn't have any defensive wounds and their causes of death were never released. So was this to protect the public from the heinous details? Again, nobody knew. But the bigger questions were always, who would do this and why would they do this? As I mentioned in the beginning, Delphi, Indiana is a very small town where everybody knows everybody. And also, this town is in Middle America. This type of thing literally just didn't happen here. middle America. This type of thing literally just didn't happen here. So fear lingered through the community that this person, whoever did this, was maybe somebody that everybody knew, just hiding in plain sight. Somebody walking among them, a monster just hidden in daylight. There were rumors,

theories, even books written about potential suspects, yet nothing was ever concrete. Five years passed, and Abby and Libby's families prayed constantly for justice and for answers to find out who did this to their girls. And finally, their prayers were answered when law enforcement announced that they had made an arrest, an arrest of a man named Richard Allen, and this happened in late October of 2022. The public was, of course, relieved, but then everyone started to wonder, who is Richard Allen? Delphi double murder suspect Richard Allen admits to police he was at the crime scene the day the two Indiana teenagers were murdered. What's more, a bullet found just feet from the girl's lifeless bodies is a match to a weapon registered to Allen. For nearly six years, this video was the only clue

the public had in the unsolved Delphi murders. The video was taken by one of the victims the day she was murdered and released to the public as investigators searched for more information. Officials now say the man in the video was Richard Allen, who was arrested just last month. Today is not a day to celebrate, but the arrest of Richard M. Allen of Delphi on two counts of murder is sure a major step in leading to the conclusion of this long-term and complex investigation. Well, Richard Allen is a 50-year-old man who wasn't necessarily someone who lived under a rock in Delphi for all of these years. His house, which he shares with his wife Kathy and I believe his stepdaughter as well, but I'm not 100% sure if it's his biological daughter or not, but his house is located five minutes away from the Monon High Bridge. He has been a resident of

Delphi since 2006 and also worked as a pharmacy tech at the local CVS in Delphi. His path often crossed with many community members, including Libby's grandparents Mike and Becky Patty, who remember him assisting them with processing photos at the store. So the news of his arrest was extremely shocking to locals, especially the ones who knew him as just a normal guy, always somebody who was willing to help out customers. And in an extremely disturbing twist, who was willing to help out customers. And in an extremely disturbing twist, social media sleuths found a picture on his wife's Facebook page of Richard smiling at a restaurant, and in the background of the photo, in the restaurant, there's a bulletin board with the Delphi police sketch of the suspect right behind him. And there he was, just smiling like the Cheshire Cat, looking like a man that

would never think he was about to be caught for a double murder. When the probable cause for his arrest became public after initially being sealed, it was almost unbelievable reading it. And while it definitely helped fill in the gaps, it raised some major questions too. Like, why were five years down the road and this arrest was just happening? Richard confirmed during multiple police interviews right after the murders that he was present on the Delphi historic trails on the day that Abby and Libby were murdered back in February of 2017. He also admitted to being near the Monon High Bridge. However, he constantly and consistently denied knowing the victims or having any involvement in their deaths. In the arrest warrant, police outlined how they put together that Richard was

responsible for the horrifying murders of Abby and Libby. They start by referring to the Snapchat video that Libby took of that man approaching them and saying, down the hill. However, this time, a long-standing theory that the video was actually much longer and possibly included more than just the infamous line by that strange man, was confirmed. Law enforcement stated that just before that, the video captured one of the girls saying the word gun. The officer who interviewed Allen in 2017 wrote, quote, Mr. Allen was on the trail between 1330 and 1350. He parked at the old Farm Bureau building and walked to the new Freedom Bridge.

Allen was interviewed for a second time on October 13, 2022, when he again confirmed he was on the High Bridge Trail the day of the murders. He told investigators he was there to, quote, watch the fish. He also said he was wearing blue jeans and a blue or black Carhartt jacket with a hood. Back in 2017, investigators spoke with multiple people who walked the trail the day the girls were murdered. Several witnesses admitted to seeing a man matching Allen's description. One child told investigators she saw a man who was, quote, kind of creepy and wearing, quote,

like blue jeans, a like really light blue jacket, and he, his hair was gray, maybe a little brown, and he did not really show his face. The girl told officials she said hi to the man, but he glared in return. The affidavit reads, quote, she stated he was walking with a purpose, like he knew where he was going. Another witness described a man in the same outfit who, quote, was muddy and bloody. The woman also said, quote, it appeared he had gotten into a fight. Surveillance video captured a vehicle parked near the bridge matching a 2016 black Ford Focus belonging to Allen. A witness said the vehicle

appeared to be, quote, backed in to conceal the license plate of the vehicle. But perhaps the biggest reveal from the newly unsealed document, quote, an unspent.40 caliber round between the bodies of victim one and victim two was forensically identified to have been cycled through Richard Allen's Sig Sauer Model P226. Investigators say Allen voluntarily spoke with them again on October 26th, saying he purchased that weapon back in 2001. He also confirmed he had never allowed anyone to borrow it. The weapon was recovered from his home on October 13th, and lab tests were performed between October 14th and October 19th. When asked about the unspent bullet, Allen, quote, did not have an explanation of why the bullet was found between

the bodies of victim one and victim two. He again admitted that he was on the trail but denied knowing victim one or victim two and denied any involvement in their murders. The redacted probable cause affidavit was released more than one month after Allen's October 28th arrest when multiple media organizations petitioned for its release. At a press conference announcing Allen's arrest last month, prosecutors said the affidavit would remain sealed to protect the ongoing investigation. A lot of people were extremely confused on why these interviews took place in 2017 and why Richard not only placed himself at the scene, but also described wearing

exactly what the person in that infamous snapchat video was wearing and he was just now being arrested five years later so like i said there's the deep dive on my channel i'm not gonna like bore you to death and do the whole deep dive again here so go over watch that and i'm going to be doing another update and deep dive soon over on YouTube going over all of the details more in depth and everything that has transpired over the last few months since that last episode. But to give you a little bit of insight, there were a few people that law enforcement heavily looked into as potential suspects for a very long time and Richard was never one of them. So to find out that he had this interview back in 2017 practically outing himself as being the bridge guy, a lot of people felt that the only reason

law enforcement still wanted to keep a lot of things hidden following Richard Allen's arrest was possibly to cover their own ass for potentially not putting this together five years earlier. for potentially not putting this together five years earlier. Now, could you imagine being Richard Allen with this bridge guy footage practically going viral, knowing that you're the one in it, and somehow not being arrested for five years after describing exactly what you were wearing to law enforcement and placing yourself at the scene? That is insane. Not only that, but in the probable cause affidavit, it said, and I quote, investigators reviewing prior tips encountered a tip narrative from an officer who interviewed Richard Allen in 2017. That narrative stated, Mr. Allen was on the trail between 1 30 p.m. 3.30 p.m. He parked at the Old Farm Bureau building and walked to the new Freedom Bridge, while at the Freedom Bridge he saw three females.

nor did he speak with them. He walked from the Freedom Bridge to the High Bridge. He did not see anybody, although he stated he was watching a stock ticker on his phone as he was walking. He stated there were vehicles parked at the High Bridge trailhead, however, did not pay any attention to them. He did not take any photos or video. And then at the very end, it says another quote, potential follow-up information. Who were the three girls walking in the area of Freedom Bridge? Well, those were the girls who described a creepy man walking towards the Monon High Bridge right before Libby and Abby were killed. The guy that also admitted to seeing that same group of three girls was Richard. So was this a complete failure of communication from so many different agencies being in place and this tip

just fell through the cracks and someone didn't put it together? Were there too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak? I don't know. You decide. It seems like a pretty important tip but for some reason it never surfaced until Richard was arrested five years later which I guess ultimately we got the guy right so we got him eventually that's all that matters but for the three girls to say they saw a creepy guy on the bridge then for Richard Allen 2017, in an interview to say he saw three girls while walking, wouldn't they deduce and get to the point that, oh, the three girls said they saw a creepy guy. Surely they were referring to Richard Allen since he said he saw the three girls too. So was he creepy? Should we look into this guy more? He also said he was wearing the exact same thing that

the guy in the Snapchat video is wearing. Maybe there's something here. Now look, I'm not a professional detective, obviously not, but it seems like with that, the writing was on the wall. So how did it take five years to arrest this creep? Since he's been in custody following his arrest back in October of 2023, his appearance and overall condition looked like he was quickly declining. He's lost a serious amount of weight and looked like something was wrong with him, quite honestly. Richard's lawyers told the court that he was being housed at a maximum security prison and also in isolation for his own protection, and they also said that they were concerned with the conditions he was living in. One of the main arguments from

his attorneys was that Westville had never housed inmates before their trial and that everyone currently being held there has been convicted of a crime. Additionally, in a motion, the defense stated, and I quote, counsel for Mr. Allen found him to be polite, communicative, with great eye contact, generally responsive to our questions, and exhibiting good sense of humor on occasion, in spite of his false arrest and circumstances. However, Mr. Allen's deteriorating physical condition has been observed by counsel dating back to the beginning of the new year. Mr. Allen has been entombed in a cell that is as small as six feet in width by 10 feet in length, space no larger than a dog kennel. Mr. Allen is

sleeping on a pad on a concrete floor. Mr. Allen is afforded showers only one to two times per week. Mr. Allen is required to wear the same clothes, including underwear, for days and days on end, all of which are soiled, stained, and tattered. The conditions under which Mr. Allen has been forced to endure are akin to that of a prisoner of war. They also said that he looks schizophrenic and delusional. Additionally, they argue that he has no privacy at Westville and that they have spent all of their time trying to get him housed in better conditions, so they have not been able to focus on the case and their defense. In a hearing in the beginning of June of 2023, the prosecution told the court about several admissions that Richard had made that he allegedly made on at

least five or six occasions regarding his involvement in the murders. The defense argued that due to his mental and physical state, due to his current housing situation, those admissions should not be trusted. At the time, it wasn't clear exactly what type of admissions he made. Was this to another inmate? Was it to a prison guard? Because law enforcement, again, had been so tight-lipped about any details, and now that the prosecution was keeping everything under seal, a lot of people began to question the strength of the state's case, even with these new admissions. It didn't help that the photos of Richard at each hearing, he began to look worse and worse.

Which, don't get me wrong, I want the person who committed these heinous crimes to rot in a cell. But at the same time, let's go to trial and convict him first so that if he's truly the person involved, go to trial and convict him first so that if he's truly the person involved, he doesn't get off for murder because of technicalities and inhumane living conditions in a max security prison, if that is really the case. Also, deteriorating conditions sometimes do play with the jury, so it's better to have as strong of a case as possible. So everything was pretty tight-lipped. as strong of a case as possible. So everything was pretty tight-lipped. However, earlier this week, new bombshell court documents were unsealed, and it did not look good for Richard. Not at all. The documents gave insight into not only these alleged confessions, but also the weapon that prosecutors believe was used in the killings. And also, it included many other disturbing revelations.

Richard Allen's attorneys want the search warrant of his house overturned and all the evidence collected there last October thrown out. The prosecutor's response gives us several new details about what investigators believe happened to Libby German and Abby Williams. To Libby German and Abby Williams. Investigators say that is Allen's voice, and he is the man in the video on Libby's phone who ordered the girls down the hill. In that same 43-second video, we've learned from the new records that investigators believe they hear the sound of a gun being cycled and one of the girls mentioning a gun.

And for the first time, we learned that investigators believe a knife was used in the murders. An autopsy found their wounds were caused by a sharp object. Court records say clothing belonging to both girls was found in a creek. Police searched Allen's home last October. They seized a handgun which investigators believe Allen used in the crime and matches an unspent bullet found next to the girls' bodies. About 15 hunting and utility knives were also confiscated, along with a blue Carhartt jacket and other clothes. The court records released Wednesday also give us some idea of Allen's mental state

while in the Westville Correctional Facility. The biggest revelation is that investigators say Allen called his wife from prison on April 3rd and admitted to her that he killed Abby and Libby. The court documents say his wife ended the call abruptly. In another document from June, investigators say Allen, quote, admitted no less than five times to committing the offense to his mother and wife. Court documents also show that right after that April 3rd phone call, the prison warden called investigators and told them Allen was acting strangely, including eating his court papers,

and he lost weight. One thing I want to note is that his wife has been present at all of his court hearings, including hearings that took place after his confessions to her, but he hasn't made any other phone calls to her or anyone else since they last spoke when she hung up on him. One of the documents revealed that he confessed to his mother as well. The documents also contained details we already knew about the sequence of events leading to his arrest. This included testimonials from witnesses who saw him, forensic analysis on a Sig Sawyer model P226 that investigators were absolutely convinced matched the unspent round found next to the girl's bodies, and the reason behind the police's belief that he was

with Abby and Libby in the woods after 2.13 p.m. The pieces of clothing missing from the girls were a pair of underwear and a sock, thought to possibly be trophies that the killer kept. The knives that were seized included foldable knives and knives in sheaths. Police also took carpet samples and swabs from the car that they believe he was driving the day of the murders, which was a Ford Focus. Even though it had been over five years, police were hopeful they'd be able to find something, since witnesses described seeing a man that was muddy and bloody, and this man was walking to afford focus. Here's how these documents describe Allen's behavior after that phone call with his ex-wife.

They say he was, quote, wetting down paperwork he had gotten from his attorneys and eating it. Investigators also say Allen was refusing to eat and would go days on end refusing to sleep. Court documents indicated that before that April 3rd phone call, Allen was making two phone calls per day. After that April 3rd phone call with his wife, Allen stopped making calls completely. The documents also show that Allen broke the tablet he had been using for text messages and phone calls. According to the documents released today, in mid-April, two psychiatrists and a psychologist examined Allen to see if he needed to be involuntarily medicated. This panel also discussed whether Allen needed to be moved to a facility with a psychiatric unit. Those doctors determined

Allen didn't need medication and he didn't need to be moved. After that examination, court documents show Allen went back to how he was acting before that April 3rd phone call with his wife. He was eating and sleeping again. Also released today in these documents was a letter sent to the court from another inmate who claimed other inmates were threatening to kill Allen and that inmates and guards were telling him that he should kill himself. And in a subpoena that we saw today, Allen's lawyers requested to inspect, measure, and survey his cell. They also filed a motion to have him moved to a different facility. So far, we know that hasn't happened. Okay, a lot to unpack here. Thank you.

Apparently, the inmate that wrote the letter is convicted of child molestation charges and considers himself a jailhouse lawyer. So it's unclear how credible his letter really is. The letter also states there are corrupt officers and ranking officers calling Richard Allen a kid killer, teasing him that he has a visit from his family. I wouldn't be shocked if some of what he wrote about being harassed for being a kid killer was true. In fact, I'm not sure that there is a prison in America that doesn't have the same complaints being made by inmates every single day. There were 118 documents released in total, so we are continuing to read through everything.

Like I said, I'm going to do that Delphi deep dive soon and go over everything that we know in detail, but I wanted to jump over here and give you guys this quick update. Now we know that the most important people throughout this entire thing are Abby and Libby and getting them justice and also their families and hopefully their families will get to receive justice soon. However, there has been a minor, not hiccup, but question in all of this that is going on. And many are questioning if this confession will in fact hold up. So I want to read to you a tweet by Jennifer Coffendaffer,

who is a former retired, who is a retired FBI agent, and she is a huge contributor on NewsNation and a legal expert that weighs in regularly. And she tweeted last night, official court documents indicating Richard Allen confessed, and she attached the PDFs. She says the defense will object based on competency. She says, my point is, where is justice for Abby and Libby in all of this? Because she says if they would have housed him in a jail like everyone else during pre-trial, not after post-conviction, and he had confessed in that type of jail, then this wouldn't be an issue. And she goes on to say it still may not be an issue, but now the waters have definitely been

muddied, again because he is being housed in a facility that only houses people who have already been convicted. So will that weigh on this confession and could it possibly be thrown out? Maybe. Again, it just doesn't make things as black and white and as clean as we would like them to make sure that this conviction happens. Again, assuming he is the right guy. So right now there is a trial scheduled for January of 2024. However, I wouldn't be surprised if that got pushed back, especially given the defense saying that they haven't even had time to really work on his case because of the conditions and trying to get him moved and his housing situated. So that certainly may get pushed back. I'm guessing that even though so many documents remain sealed and redacted, it seems like every few weeks or every month or so, information does surface in

this case. So you know it's way easier for me to jump over here on the podcast and give you the information as it comes out rather than curate the full video over on YouTube. So I will do that as more updates happen in this case and just I'll jump on the mic and give you the updates in real time. So take a quick second and make sure you're following the podcast if you're not already just so that you make sure you're get you get notified of those updates. Also I want to let you guys know this Monday I am dropping a bombshell of a case that so many of you guys have been dming me about i think it actually right now is the number one requested case that you've asked that i cover and it's a

long one i think it's like an hour and a half long so i'm going to be releasing it a little bit earlier than usual i'm going to release it midnight monday um so monday it's technically i mean technically monday but i guess sund night, midnight Pacific time, because I want to make sure you guys have enough time during your holiday weekend and going into the 4i Travis case so get ready and buckle up because it is a wild one all right thanks for tuning in to another bonus episode of serialously with me I hope you all have an amazing long weekend ahead of you have a nice holiday break hopefully some of you who are working or taking some PTO and i will be back with you in a couple days with another insane case to break down for you where we go through all the red flags and all the craziness all right guys thanks so much again please rate and review if you're listening on apple podcasts and i will be talking to you very soon all right guys take care i am

signing off, besties.