The Shocking Delphi Murders: How A Single Bullet Led To Arrests And Accusations

A single .40 calibre bullet discovered near the bodies of Libby German and Abby Williams turned out to be the smoking gun that initially led police to charge 50-year-old CVS worker Richard Allen with their murders in October. The criminal affidavit, which was partly redacted and released in November, revealed for the first time that the local man was finally tied to the murders through ballistics on a bullet found at the bloody crime scene. Now, in a dramatic twist, the accused killer has claimed not only that he is innocent – but that the victims actually died at the hands of a pagan white nationalist cult.

In sensational court documents, filed on 18 September, attorneys claim that the teenage best friends were killed as part of a “ritualistic sacrifice” by a group of Odinists. This came after Mr. Allen confessed multiple times to the 2017 killings while behind bars – including in a jailhouse phone call with his wife. The suspect – who was on police radar back in 2017 but slipped through the net for more than five years due to a clerical error – also confessed in jailhouse calls to his mother, the documents state. In total, court documents state that he confessed at least five times.

These developments mark just the latest twists in a tragic case which began one spring morning back in 2017. It was 13 February when best friends Libby and Abby set off on a hike along the Monon High Bridge Trail in their hometown of Delphi. During the walk, Libby posted a photo of her best friend walking along the Monon High Bridge. It was the last known photo of Abby before she was killed. Later that day, the teenagers were reported missing when they failed to return to a spot where a family member was picking them up.

The Bullet and Its Significance

An unspent .40 calibre bullet was found between the bodies of 13-year-old Abby Williams and Libby German, 14, according to a probable cause affidavit released in the case of the State of Indiana v Richard M Allen. Law enforcement has never revealed the girls’ cause of death, saying only that they lost a lot of blood after being attacked with an unspecified weapon and were not killed in the same location where their bodies were discovered.

On 13 October, investigators executed a search warrant at the home on North Whiteman Drive that Mr. Allen shared with his wife Kathy. The affidavit states they found knives and firearms, including a Sig Sauer Model P226 pistol. The Indiana State Police Laboratory analyzed the gun and determined that the unspent round found two feet from one of the victim’s bodies had been cycled through Mr. Allen’s gun, according to the affidavit.

Mr. Allen confirmed he had owned the gun since 2001, and his wife Kathy is alleged to have told investigators that her husband was the only person with access to the weapon. Mr. Allen offered no explanation for how the bullet — which had not been fired — ended up between the bodies of the two teenage victims, the document states. The affidavit also revealed that one of the victims is heard saying “gun” in chilling footage on Libby’s cellphone before she died.

The Bridge Guy: Eyewitness Accounts

A mystery figure seen in the footage captured by Libby became known as the “Bridge Guy” after a Snapchat video taken on Libby’s phone during their hike was released by authorities last year. In the clip, a man wearing jeans, a blue jacket, and a hoodie can be seen approaching the girls. A male voice can be heard saying the words “guys” and “down the hill.” Police believe the recording was made just before the murders took place, and praised the girls’ awareness and foresight for recording the clip.

Investigators described the suspect as a white male aged between 16 and 40 years old, between 5’ 6” and 5’ 10” in height and weighing between 180 and 200 pounds. Eyewitness accounts reveal how three girls under 17 encountered a man on the Monon High Bridge who seemed to be hiding his face and glared at them when they said hello. One of the three juveniles put the man’s height at no taller than 5’ 10”.

A female witness, whose name has also been redacted, told investigators she also saw a man matching the description of the “Bridge Guy” captured on Libby’s video on the Monon High Bridge. She recounted seeing Libby and Abby walking towards the bridge around 1:49 PM. A separate witness told police they had seen a man wearing a blue jacket and blue jeans who was “muddy and bloody.” CCTV footage from the nearby Hoosier Harvestore placed that witness driving away from the area at about 3:57 PM.

Investigative Interviews and Confessions

The affidavit raises questions as it revealed that Mr. Allen spoke with investigators at least twice, including in 2017 - confirming that he was on the police radar at the time of the murders. In the 2017 interview, Mr. Allen confessed to being on the Monon High Bridge Trail on the afternoon of 13 February – placing him on the scene at the same day and time that the victims went on their fateful walk.

At the time, he denied any involvement in the murders and insisted he had never seen the two girls that day. In another interview on 13 October 2022, Mr. Allen had “no explanation” as to how the spent bullet ended up between the bodies of the two teenage victims, the affidavit states. The accused killer said he had “not been on the property where the unspent round was found, that he did not know the property owner, and that he had no explanation as to why a round cycled through his firearm would be at that location,” it says. The property owner – Ron Logan – was also previously tied to the case and died in 2020.

This complex and tragic case continues to unfold, raising questions about the investigation's integrity and the potential for new evidence to emerge. As the legal proceedings move forward, the community remains on edge, awaiting justice for Libby German and Abby Williams.