Liberty German, left, and Abigail Williams. Photos / Supplied
Liberty German, left, and Abigail Williams. Photos / Supplied
An Indiana man has been charged with murder in the deaths of two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana, more than five years after their bodies were found near an abandoned rail bridge, authorities announced on Monday (Tuesday NZT).
The girls, Liberty German, 14, and her friend Abigail Williams, 13, disappearedduring a hike in Delphi, about 113 kilometres northwest of Indianapolis, on February 13, 2017. Their bodies were found the next day, and the investigation gained nationwide attention as authorities released material from Liberty’s phone, including recordings of a man following the girls and of a voice saying: “Down the hill.”
At a news conference on Monday, authorities announced that Richard Allen, 50, of Delphi, had been arrested last week and charged with two counts of murder. He has entered a not guilty plea and is being held without bond, Carroll County prosecutor Nicholas McLeland said.
TONIGHT: We’re dedicating the entire @NewsNation Prime hour to the Delphi Murders. If you listened to the “Down the Hill” podcast, you’ll want to tune in. Our teams traveled to Delphi, talked to family, law enforcement and true crime hosts. Who killed Abby and Libby? 8pmCST pic.twitter.com/jUoHqpeJBH
State Police Superintendent Douglas Carter said investigators have “worked tirelessly”, emphasising that they have been counting the more than 2000 days since the deaths, with some officers postponing retirement, working overtime and giving up holidays. But he said they were not done yet.
“Today is not that day,” he said.
McLeland described the case as “very ongoing” and said investigators were keeping tip lines open for information, not only about Allen “but about any other person”.
Flowers at the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, Indiana on October 31, 2022. Photo / AP
McLeland added that the charging information had been sealed by the court.
“It’s about protecting the integrity of this case,” he said.
A pretrial hearing has been set for January 13 and a trial set for March 20, he said.
It was not immediately clear if Allen had a lawyer, and a family member for Allen could not be reached.
Liberty, who was called Libby, and Abigail, known as Abby, disappeared during a hike on the last day of a four-day winter break. They set off about 1pm near Monon High Bridge, an abandoned rail bridge near a 16km park trail known as the Delphi Historic Trail, “to walk around and hang out”, the Indiana State Police said at the time.
The girls had made plans to be picked up later in the afternoon, but after they failed to show up, a relative called the authorities. Their bodies were discovered the next day in the woods less than a kilometre upstream from the bridge.
Over time, clues about the case were released to the public, drawing national attention in part because of the recording that investigators extracted from Libby’s cellphone of a man ordering the girls: “Down the hill.” Police later released more material from the phone, including a short video of a man walking behind the girls, in hopes that someone might recognise him. Authorities also released a composite sketch of a suspect.
Last year, a reward for information leading to a break in the case ballooned to more than US$300,000 (NZ$515,970).
Police have not said how the girls, who were active in their school’s band, were killed, but praised Libby for the recordings.
“This young lady is a hero, there is no doubt, to have enough presence of mind to activate the video system on her cellphone to record what we believe is criminal behaviour that is about to occur,” Sergeant Tony Slocum of the State Police said at a news conference in 2017.
