2017 Delphi Murder Case Received Justice As It Went Cold For Nearly Five Years! Where Is The Killer Today?
It has been almost a decade since the tragic Delphi murders took place in 2017. Liberty “Libby” German and Abigail “Abby” Williams, who were 14 and 13-year-old teenagers, were brutally murdered in a double homicide by Richard Allen. Despite Allen eventually being caught, it wasn’t an easy case, as it went unsolved for nearly five years.
What Happened in Delphi?
On the afternoon of February 13, 2017, the two young teenagers, 14-year-old German and 13-year-old Williams, set out for what was supposed to be a carefree day of hiking. They were dropped off near the Monon High Bridge, a familiar local landmark in Delphi, with plans to be picked up by their family later that afternoon. However, they never met up with their parents and were reported missing.
The following day, the families’ worst fears were realized. The lifeless bodies of German and Williams were discovered near an adjacent creek. The details of the crime scene were harrowing; the young girls had their throats slit, and an unspent .40 caliber bullet was found lying between them. The community of Delphi was shattered, and the case put a dark cloud over the community for nearly five years.
Before her life was brutally taken, German committed an act of astonishing bravery that would ultimately become the linchpin of the investigation. Sensing the imminent danger, the 14-year-old activated her cell phone camera, capturing a grainy video of the man following them closely across the bridge.
The footage captured the suspect, who would become known globally as the “Bridge Guy,” and recorded him uttering the chilling directive, which was obtained by People, “down the hill.” In the days following the discovery of the girls, law enforcement officials rightfully recognized the magnitude of the teenager’s actions. Indiana State Police Public Information Officer Sergeant Tony Slocum publicly commended Liberty.
He stated firmly that there was no doubt in the minds of investigators that the young lady was a hero for recording the criminal behavior that was about to occur. Yet, despite having the audio and visual evidence of the primary suspect, the investigation stalled, leaving the families in Delphi waiting for answers year after agonizing year.
Related Special Interests Content
- Dark Legends: The 5 Most Notorious Women Whose Crimes Still Haunt America – Total Apex Entertainment
- José Jurado Montilla: The Brilliant Breakthrough That Caught the TikTok Killer’s Double Life Exposed – Total Apex Entertainment
The Pursuit of Justice
For five years, the identity of the “Bridge Guy” remained a mystery, casting a dark shadow over Delphi. The breakthrough finally arrived in 2022, not from a new piece of forensic evidence, but from a diligent review of the past. A volunteer receptionist named Kathy Shank was reviewing old case files when she unearthed a tip that had been cleared and misfiled back in 2017.
The tip was a self-report from the local Delphi resident Allen, who had willingly told authorities at the time of the murders that he was walking on the trail. Because three other girls had reported seeing a man on the trail that day, the resurfaced tip immediately drew the sharp focus of investigators.
Allen was not a stranger to the community; he was a 50-year-old resident of Delphi who worked at a local CVS pharmacy. In a cruel twist of fate, German’s grandparents, Mike and Becky Patty, later recalled that he had even processed photographs for their family at that very store. Following the discovery of the misfiled tip, law enforcement executed a search of Allen’s home.
The Arrest of The Suspect
During this search, authorities located a firearm that forensically matched the unspent .40 caliber bullet found between the bodies of the two girls back in 2017. In October 2022, Allen was arrested and charged with two counts of murder, to which he initially pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors later amended the charges to include two additional counts of murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping.
The subsequent trial brought even more painful revelations to the surface. During his incarceration awaiting trial, a state trooper monitored approximately 700 of Allen’s prison phone calls. The trooper later testified that the voice recorded on German’s phone five years prior belonged to Allen. Furthermore, prosecutors revealed that during a call to his wife, Allen offered a stark confession, via WTHR, reportedly stating, “I did it. I killed Abby and Libby.”
Allen’s defense team fiercely contested the confession, arguing that their client was suffering from a declining mental state during the time of the phone calls. They also presented an alternative theory, attempting to argue that the murders in Delphi were actually a ritual sacrifice carried out by Odinists, a pagan religious group with ties to White nationalism.
Where is Richard Allen Now?
Despite these defense strategies, a jury found Richard Allen guilty of all four counts in November 2024. The following month, he was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 130 years in prison. Today, Allen has been removed from Delphi and is housed at The Lexington Assessment and Reception Center, a maximum-security prison facility located in Oklahoma, where he was transferred by July 2025.
His defense team filed an appeal last March, arguing four alleged procedural missteps that were enough to overturn the jury’s verdict. The move was to give Allen a full defense at a second trial. The tragedy has since caught a lot of public attention, so much so that Netflix put out a documentary in August 2025 titled “Capturing Their Killer: The Girls on the High Bridge.”
In the documentary, Allen’s wife, Kathy Allen, spoke publicly for the first time, steadfastly maintaining her husband’s innocence and stating that he is not the monster the public believes him to be. Yet, for the families of German and Williams, the conviction and 130-year sentence stand as the long-awaited accountability for a crime that forever changed their lives.
Author
