The trial for a man charged in the 2017 murders of two Delphi, Indiana, girls, who were killed while taking pictures along a hiking trail, is underway, after years of mystery surrounding the case.
The murders of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, went without an arrest for more than five years -- until Richard Allen was charged with the crime that shocked the small community of around 3,000 residents.
Here's a look back at how the case that has gripped the nation unfolded and the twists and turns that came before an arrest was eventually made.
What happened to Abigail Williams and Liberty German?
On Feb. 13, 2017, Libby and Abby vanished while hiking along a trail near their hometown about 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis.
That afternoon, one of Libby's family members dropped the girls off near the Monon High Bridge, where the two went hiking on a nearby trail, according to a website seeking information about the teens' murders. Hours later, a relative arrived to pick the girls up, but they never showed up.
Family members reported the girls missing at 5:30 p.m. that evening.
Local
Their bodies were found the next day in a wooded area about three-quarters of a mile from the abandoned railroad bridge where they were dropped off.
The murders uprooted the small Indiana community of Delphi, leaving many to wonder who could commit such a heinous act - kill two teenage best friends who had their whole lives ahead of them.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
Photo and audio of suspect released
Two days following Libby and Abby's disappearance, Indiana State Police released photos of a man who was seen on hiking trails around the time the girls were there and asked the public to help identify him. The pictures, taken on Libby's phone, showed the unidentified man heading across a bridge and toward the teens.
While police announced they were seeking to identify the person in question, it wasn't until four days later when they officially named him a suspect.
About a week later, state police investigators released an audio recording of a male voice saying "down the hill," asking for anyone who can identify the voice to come forward.
Police hailed the girl as a hero for recording potentially crucial evidence.
Witness description leads to new image
Authorities on July 17, 2017, released a sketch of a man considered the main suspect in the girls' killings based on descriptions of someone who was believed to have seen him.
The composite sketch depicts a white man with a prominent nose and a goatee who’s wearing a cap and what appears to be a hooded sweater. Police said the suspect has reddish-brown hair, stands between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-10 and weighs between 180 and 220 pounds.
Police asked the public to examine the image, particularly the man’s facial features and contact them with any information that might help them identify him.
“We want to know who he is,” State Police Sgt. Kim Riley said at a news conference at the time. “If we can get somebody to come forward with more information — if we can get a name or at least a location of this subject — that would be great.”
The cell phone video that marked a major moment in the case
Two years after their deaths, Indiana State Police released video and audio of the man they believed was responsible for the murders, as well as a new composite sketch of the suspect.
The footage was taken from one of the girls' phones, just minutes before their deaths, according to police, who said they believed the killer was either living in Delphi or previously lived in Delphi and visited or worked in the town.
Superintendent Doug Carter delivered a pointed message at the time to the killer, suggesting the murderer could be in the very room where he was addressing reporters and community members.
"We believe you are hiding in plain sight," he said. "For more than two years you never thought we would shift gears to a different investigative strategy, but we have. We likely have interviewed you or someone close to you. We know that this is about power to you and you want to know what we know. One day, you will."
Carter urged the public to listen to the audio and watch the video carefully.
"This is not two different people speaking," he said. "Please listen to it very, very, very carefully."
Investigators on a multi-agency task force went through thousands of leads looking for the man they say forced the teens off the trail, ordering them to go "down the hill."
"A question to you," Carter said in his message to the killer. "What will those closest to you think of when they find out that you brutally murdered two little girls- two children? Only a coward would do such a thing. We are confident that you have told someone what you have done or at the very least they know because of how diffrerent you are since the murders."
Police also released a new composite sketch of their suspect. They said the man was between 18 and 40 years old "but might appear younger than his true age."
The sketch was different from the initial suspect image, with police saying it "more accurately represents" the man believed to be their killer. The latest sketch was “representative of the face of the person captured” in video taken from Libby's cellphone, police said in a statement.
"We have a witness. You made mistakes," Carter said in a statement. "We are coming for you and there's no place for a heartless coward like you to hide that gets his thrill from killing little girls."
An arrest is made
In October 2022, an arrest was made in the case.
Allen, a drugstore worker from Delphi, was taken into custody and formally charged with two counts of murder.
During an initial hearing, Allen entered a primary plea of not guilty, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland said.
Allen’s lawyers maintain his innocence, saying he "has nothing to hide.”
Case shrouded in mystery
The judge in the case issued a gag order in December 2022, after Allen’s lawyers spoke out in defense of their client. At the time, a probable cause affidavit was unsealed claiming a bullet found near the children's bodies was linked to a gun belonging to the suspect.
Carroll County prosecutors sought the gag order amid intense media coverage, and it prevented nearly everyone associated with the case, including lawyers, law enforcement officials and family members, from speaking publicly.
But the defense also asked for the trial to be held outside of Carroll County, arguing the potential of a “tainted jury pool.” Judge Frances Gull denied that request but agreed to allow the jury pool to come from Allen County, more than 100 miles away.
Dozens of alleged confessions
In June 2023, hundreds of pages of documents in the case were unsealed, revealing that an imprisoned Allen allegedly confessed to his wife in a phone call a couple of months earlier that he committed the murders.
Prosecutors also said he confessed to other people, including staff and inmates at the maximum-security state prison where he was being held.
Allen allegedly made more than 60 confessions while he was incarcerated in state prisons, according to WTHR.
But his lawyers responded in a separate document that he “appeared to be suffering from various psychotic symptoms which counsel would describe as schizophrenic and delusional.” They also said Allen seemed to have memory loss and “an overall inability to communicate rationally with counsel and family members.”
The attorneys noted that this behavior was different from how he normally interacted.
An alternate theory
While Allen’s defense is expected to counter any evidence of an alleged confession, his lawyers, Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi, won’t get to tell the jury one alternate theory for the killings. Gull last month denied their bid to claim that Abby and Libby were murdered as part of a ritualistic sacrifice by those linked to Odinism, a Norse pagan religion that has spread among white nationalist groups.
While the defense said in a memo that details from the crime scene may suggest some type of occult practice, Gull ultimately found that “the probative value of such evidence is greatly outweighed by confusion of the issues and its potential to mislead the jury.”
Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland downplayed the Odinism theory as a “fanciful defense for social media to devour.”
Defense lawyers, however, may still get to argue during the trial why certain evidence is admissible.
Jury selection and rules
Jury selection in the trial began Monday, with 12 jurors and two alternates chosen, NBC Indianapolis affiliate WTHR reported. The full jury was chosen later in the week and sworn in Thursday before being transported to a hotel closer to Delphi for the trial.
From there, the jury will be sequestered for the entirety of the trial, which is expected to last until Nov. 15.
Gull, the special judge in the case, has prohibited video or audio from inside the courtroom and banned the use of electronics.
The 12 jurors and four alternates have been brought in from Allen County.
The court confiscates their electronics, but they can talk to their families on the phone each night while being watched by a bailiff. Sundays are “family time” when they can see their family, under the supervision of a bailiff, and families have been instructed not to talk about the case with them.
The hotel rooms themselves have no access to a telephone, television, radio, or any kind of media. Jurors can watch TV in the TV room – the judge made it clear they will be showing the NFL playoffs and brought several DVDs.
The court is providing lunch each day and transportation for the jurors to and from the hotel. The door that they will be entering the courthouse through is covered with a black tent, and the driveway area they will drive into has a black fence up, to prevent people from filming them.
The jury foreperson will be selected by their peers at the very end of the trial, right before they start deliberations.
The defense's unusual request
The judge must still decide a defense request for jurors to visit the crime scene, arguing that doing so would “greatly aid” their understanding of what will be presented at trial.
Going there would help in “observing and feeling the unique topography of the land; something that cannot be understood from photographs and video,” defense lawyers wrote in their motion. Visiting a crime scene is unusual for a jury but has occurred in previous high-profile cases, including the trial of OJ Simpson.
Prosecutors have objected to the move, in part because of security concerns. Gull said she would rule on it after jury selection.
