On February 13, 2017, Abigail “Abby” Williams and Liberty “Libby” German were murdered in Indiana. Richard Allen, a 52-year-old man from Indiana, has been accused of gruesomely murdering young teenage girls. It is currently day 11 of his ongoing trial, and the jury heard testimony from Allen’s prison psychologist, Dr. Monica Wala. During her testimony, she stated that Richard Allen admitted to murdering Williams and German. He made several confessions to her throughout his sessions in 2023. Dr. Wala’s testimony may be just what the jury needs to find Allen guilty of the murders. If he is convicted by the jury, he will face up to 130 years in prison.
The Delphi Murders
Abby Williams and Libby German walked along a hiking trail just outside Delphi, Indiana, on February 13, 2017. They went missing that same day. The following day, their bodies were discovered on private property with their throats slashed. Carroll County sheriff’s deputy Darren Giancola was the first to arrive on the scene. He testified on day 3 of the Delphi Murder Trial that one of the girls was completely naked while the other was clothed. There was no attempt to save their lives since it was clear they were already deceased.
The Delphi Murders case gained national attention in 2017 but fell off the media’s radar when it ran cold. It was not until 2022 that it regained attention when Richard Allen was arrested for the murders. He pleaded not guilty when he was taken into custody and has been awaiting trial in jail. Investigators in the case concealed the girl’s cause of death from the public for all these years. During the prosecution’s opening statement, they revealed the horrific truth. Crime scene photos were also shown during the witness testimony of Jason Page, the investigator who photographed the scene.
Trial Updates
Allen’s defense attempted to argue that the murders were ritual killings made by Odinists, a religious group. However, Special Judge Fran Gull shot that down and adjudicated any talk on third parties. The prosecution’s argument is much simpler with the amount of facts, witnesses, and evidence they have against Richard Allen. So far, the jury has heard 11 days of testimony. On day 10, the jury watched multiple videos of Allen being interviewed and interrogated by police. When he was arrested in 2022, he got into a heated argument with Indiana State Police investigator Jerry Holeman when he fully denied any involvement in the murders.
On day 11 of the Delphi Murder Trial, Dr. Monica Wala testified. The statements she made to the court could be the nail in Richard Allen’s coffin. While Allen was imprisoned at Westville Correctional Facility, he saw Dr. Wala daily. She testified that Allen confessed multiple times to murdering Williams and German. He told her he “made sure they were dead because he didn’t want them to suffer.” She told the jury that Allen admitted to being sexually motivated when he committed the murders. At certain times, he would even go into detail about the events that occurred, such as how he killed them and what he did to hide their bodies afterward.
Final Thoughts
Abby Williams and Libby German were selfishly taken from their families too soon. They deserve justice and deserve to be at peace. Although it has taken many years for them to receive any type of closure, it is better late than never. Richard Allen told his psychiatrist he would like to apologize to the victim’s families. However, he may never get that chance since that would only cause them more distress during such a tragic time. Now, it is up to the eight women and four men of the jury to convict Richard Allen for the brutal murders and to bring those girl’s families justice.
