Richard Allen, a Delphi, Indiana resident, was found guilty on all charges on Monday in the double murders of best friends Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14.
The jury’s decision came on the fourth day of deliberations in the high-profile case that stunned the country.
Allen remained cool in court and did not react to the verdict, while his mother and wife cried.
Allen was found guilty of felony murder for killing Abigail Williams while attempting to abduct; felony murder for killing Liberty German while attempting to kidnap; murder for knowingly killing Abigail Williams; and murder for knowingly killing Liberty German.
“Today is the day.” “It has been a long time coming,” Delphi resident Sarah Ausbrook told ABC News.
She applauded the prosecutors, stating that they “did an outstanding job of presenting the evidence they had.”
“Today for me means some major healing for this community,” Ausbrook told reporters.
“I’m sure the families are reliving that pain, but also rejoicing that they did get an answer,” she told the audience.
The authorities have issued a gag order, prohibiting the girls’ relatives from commenting until the punishment process is complete.
The date of Allen’s sentence is December 20.
On February 13, 2017, a nearby hiking route claimed the lives of Abby and Libby. Someone sliced the girls’ throats and left them in a forested area near the trail. The next day, investigators discovered their remains.
On the day of the killings, Libby uploaded a Snapchat shot of Abby as they walked across the Monon High Bridge. After crossing the bridge, the girls noticed a man behind them, and Libby began recording on her phone, according to prosecutor Nick McLeland.
Police released a recording of the unknown person saying “down the hill” from Libby’s phone as they searched for a suspect. Police also released a grainy photograph of the suspect on the trail, a man known as “bridge guy.”
Allen, who was arrested for murder in 2022, told authorities he was on the path that day but denied any role in the incident.
The trial focused heavily on Allen’s many confessions while in jail, as well as his mental condition at the time.
The defense claimed Allen was schizophrenic when he made several confessions to correctional personnel, his wife, and a psychologist.
The prosecution heavily relied on police analysis of Allen’s gun, revealing that Allen cycled a.40-caliber unspent cartridge found near the girls’ bodies through his Sig Sauer Model P226. However, the defense disputed the accuracy of that testing, calling it an “apples to oranges” comparison since the technician compared the initial round, which had been cycled but not shot, to a bullet fired from Allen’s rifle.
A forensic expert testified that no DNA was discovered at the spot that may link Allen or anybody else to the crime scene.