Richard Allen is a pharmacy tech and married father who is accused in the high-profile murders of two girls, Abigail Williams and Liberty German, who were killed in 2017 near Delphi, Indiana, after going for a walk on a bridge.
Allen, who is also known as Ricky Allen and Rick Allen, is 50 years old and lives in Delphi, about five minutes from the murder scene. His full name is Richard Matthew Allen.
A probable cause affidavit in the case was unsealed on November 29, 2022. It says that police knew since 2017 that Allen admitted being at the bridge that day. They also have a ballistics match and eyewitness accounts.
Superintendent of Indiana State Police Doug Carter confirmed in a news conference on Monday, October 31, 2022, that Richard M. Allen was arrested on two counts of murder in the notorious case. Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland revealed that Allen has been charged with the slayings of Williams, also known as Abby, and German, also called Libby, and called him a “local guy.” He said the charging document has been sealed.
Allen, who was not on the radar as a suspect in the case publicly before his arrest, has already appeared at an initial hearing and entered a not guilty plea. He will be tried in March 2023.
“Today is different. I do not want there to be any confusion or ambiguity about what I will say. Today is not a day to celebrate. But the arrest of Richard M. Allen of Delphi on two counts of murder” is a step toward a conclusion in this “long and complex investigation,” Carter said.
He added: “Last Friday was the day … an arrest was made.” Carter said the investigation will continue so that any other person who could have been involved in the murders in any way will be held accountable. He said he hoped Allen’s arrest would bring the girls’ families a measure of peace.
News first broke of Allen’s arrest on October 28, when Fox59 reported that Allen was in custody.
Posts by family members of German, who was 14 when she was murdered, quickly indicated something major was going on. “At long last we have a face to go with our monster,” German’s grandmother Becky Marchand Patty wrote on Facebook after Allen’s arrest. Williams was 13.
BREAKING: A government source confirms this is a state issued photo of Richard Allen arrested in connection to the 2017 murders of Libby German and Abby Williams in Delphi. Allen booked into the Carroll County Jail then moved to another facility. News conference Monday at 10.
The case was one of the most famous unsolved homicides in the Midwest. One of the girls recorded a snippet of video of the suspected killer, when they encountered a man walking on a bridge, and he could be heard mumbling “down the hill.” The case has spawned true-crime groups and podcasts; many have worked to get justice for the two girls.
Two photos have drawn attention since Allen’s arrest.
In 2018, Allen’s wife posted a photo of their daughter on the same bridge. You can see it below. Allen lives on Whiteman Drive in Delphi, Indiana, in a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home, according to property records.
In addition, he was photographed in December 2021 in a Delphi bar with his wife sitting in front of what appears to be a police sketch of the Delphi killer.
Daily Beast spoke to the bar owner, Bob Matlock.
FacebookAllen with his wife.
“He would come in and we would always talk about the girls and everything,” Matlock told Daily Beast. ‘We would carry on conversations about it, he would say, you know, it’s such a tragedy, and we’d say we felt sorry for the families and all that, but we tried not to talk about it too much because we all knew the families.”
He does not appear to have a criminal history.
Allen’s attorney released a statement proclaiming his client’s innocence and saying that Allen is confused by he has been accused of the crimes.
BREAKING: attorneys for Richard Allen, the suspect in the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German, respond to our questions via email/news release. #delphi
How did it take so long to identify Allen as a suspect? According to Fox59, an investigative source claims a 2017 interview with Allen, in which he volunteered that he had been on the trail that day, “was overlooked due to a ‘clerical error.'”
The television station reported that “someone mislabeled or misfiled tip information in the system, which means it didn’t show up in the correct location during a data search,” but added that the FBI insists that agency “correctly followed established procedures.”
Here’s what you need to know about Richard “Ricky” Allen:
1. A Bullet Between the Victims’ Bodies Matched to Allen’s Gun, the Probable Cause Affidavit Says
FacebookRicky Allen.
The probable cause affidavit cites ballistics evidence, eyewitnesses, and Allen’s admission that he was on the bridge. It says:
The two victims were found “deceased in the woods,” their bodies located on the north side of the Deer Creek.
The affidavit gives additional details about the video recorded by one of the victims. The previously released portion captured the man saying “guys, down the hill.”
The charging document says that “as the male subject approaches Victim 1 and Victim 2, one of the victims mentions ‘gun.’”
The girls began to proceed down the hill after being instructed to do so and the video ended.
Clothes were found in the Deer Creek belonging to the victims, south of where their bodies were located. There was also a .40 caliber unspent round less than two feet away from Victim 2’s body, between Victim 1 and Victim 2’s bodies. The round was unspent and had extraction marks on it.
Three juveniles told police they were on the Monon High Bridge Trail on February 13, 2017, and they were walking toward Freedom Bridge to go home when they encountered a male walking from Freedom Bridge toward the Monon High Bridge. They described him as “kind of creepy” and wearing “like blue jeans a like really light blue jacket and …his hair was gray maybe a little brown and he did not really show his face.”
The jacket was a duck canvas type jacket. She said hi to the male but he just glared at them. He was dressed in all black with something covering his mouth and was “not very tall” with a bigger build and not bigger than 5 foot 10. He was wearing a black hoodie, black jeans and black boots and had his hands in his pockets.
The man was also described as wearing a blue or black windbreaker jacket with a hood up from clothing underneath his jacket. He was wearing baggy jeans. He was walking with a purpose and kept his head down. She believed he was a white mail.
Another witness also observed a man matching the suspect in the victim’s video. She described him as a white male, wearing blue jeans and a blue jean jacket.
He was standing on the first platform of the Monon High Bridge. She then saw the two victims walking toward the bridge.
She noted a vehicle parked in an odd manner at the old Child Protective Services building.
Another witness saw a purple PT Cruiser or small SUV type vehicle parked on the south side of the old CPS building and it appeared it was backed in as to conceal the license plate.
Another witness reported seeing the man in a blue colored jacket and blue jeans and said he was “muddy and bloody.” It “appeared he had gotten into a fight.” That was around 3:57 p.m.
Investigators reviewing prior tips encountered a tip narrative from an officer who interviewed Richard M. Allen in 2017.
The narrative stated:
Mr. Allen was on the trail between 1330-1530. He parked at the old Farm Bureau building and walked to the new Freedom Bridge. While at the Freedom Bridge he saw three females. He noted one was taller and had brown or black hair. He did not remember description nor did he speak with them. He walked from the Freedom Bridge to the High Bridge. He did not see anybody, although he stated he was watching a stock ticker on his phone as he walked. He stated there were vehicles parked at the High Bridge trail head, however he did not pay attention to them. He did not take any photos or videos.
The tip included the line, “Potential follow up information: Who were the three girls walking in the area of Freedom Bridge?”
Investigators believe Allen was referring to the former Child Protective Services Building.
Investigators discovered Richard Allen owned a 2016 black Ford Focus and a 2006 gray Ford 500 in 2017. They observed a video resembling his Ford Focus on the Hoosier Harvestore video at 1:27 p.m. traveling westbound, which coincided with his statement that he arrived around 1:30 p.m. at the trails.
Investigators believe the witnesses described cars similar to a Ford Focus.
On October 13, 2022, Allen was interviewed again by investigators. He advised he was on the trails that day and saw juvenile girls.
He claimed he went out onto the Monon High Bridge to watch the fish and that he walked out to the first platform on the bridge and then walked back, sat on a bench on the trail and left.
He was wearing blue jeans and a blue or black Carhartt jacket with a hood. He said he owns firearms and they are at his house.
His wife, Kathy Allen, confirmed that Richard had guns and knives at home and still owned a blue Carhartt jacket.
Officers executed a search warrant at Allen’s home and located jackets, boots, knives and firearms, including a Sig Sauer Model P226, .40 caliber pistol.
The Indiana State Police Laboratory examined the firearm and used a ballistic matching program called NIBIN.
They determined the unspent round located within two feet of the victim’s body had been cycled through Richard M. Allen’s Sig Sauer Model P226/
“Sufficient agreement is related to the significant duplication of random striated/impressed marks as evidenced by the correspondence of a pattern or combination of patterns of surface contours.”
He had purchased the gun in 2001. Allen had no explanation for why the bullet was found between the bodies but said he never allowed anyone to use or borrow the gun.
Authorities believe Allen is the man seen on video.
Carter said police won’t release many details on the case and arrest at this point to preserve the integrity of the investigation. Authorities would not say when Allen became a suspect in the case. He is being held without bond.
Authorities said they sealed the criminal complaint and other records in the case because the investigation is still ongoing. They said there will be a hearing to determine whether the records will stay sealed. It’s unusual for details of an arrest and crime to not come out after charges are filed.
Before the news broke about Allen, German’s sister said on social media that there was a break in the case.
On October 28, 2022, Kelsi German, tweeted, “Just know how grateful I am for all of you. No comments for now, any questions please refer to the Carroll county prosecutors office. There is tentatively a press conference Monday at 10am. We will say more then. Today is the day💜.”
Just know how grateful I am for all of you. No comments for now, any questions please refer to the Carroll county prosecutors office. There is tentatively a press conference Monday at 10am. We will say more then.
Today is the day💜
German’s grandmother Becky Marchand Patty wrote on Facebook:
I guess I am kind of at a loss. Every morning I get up – get my coffee – and start looking for which photo will be the today is the day post. Now I sit here not needing to do it because at long last we have a face to go with our monster. I sit here wondering – now what. Where do we go from here? I realize our lives have again made a big change – we have a very difficult path to start down. It is a path we will gladly face as we know each step taken is one step closer to our monster being convicted. Knowing that makes that walk so much easier. I want to thank everyone who has supported and prayed for our girls daily for 51/2 years – who never gave up! Who grew to love them. I know they are smiling down on the world today knowing it is now a little bit safer. Thank you
According to Fox59, neighbors said police were “digging up a fire pit” in Allen’s backyard the week before his arrest.
On October 28 the outlet cited multiple sources as indicating that “a man named Richard Allen was booked into the Carroll County Jail Friday in connection with the Delphi murder investigation.”
“So I get a phone call at 10:15 Friday morning, ‘Do you want to come in to work today?’ and I said, ‘Why would I want to do that?’ and the answer was, ‘Delphi,'” Fox 59 journalist Russ McQuaid wrote on Facebook.
“There’s something happening. Spent my day off in that town talking to folks. Learned some stuff nobody’s ever said out loud before. Fox 59 will be back up there this weekend to get ready for Monday’s ISP press conference on an arrest connected to the case. (Note I did not say it was an arrest for murder.)”
Allen, 50, “has been moved to a state facility for his safety,” the television station reported on October 28.
Victim notification network VINELink shows bookings for Allen in both Carroll and White counties and shows he uses the alias “Craigh Ross Rentfrow.” A man on Facebook with that name told people who asked in his comment threads that he has nothing to do with Allen and doesn’t know him.
VINE LinkRichard Allen booking.
WRTV reported that Allen had already appeared in court on Friday.
Williams, 13, and German, 14, had gone for a walk on an old railroad bridge along Monon High Bridge trail near Delphi on February 13, 2017, when they were murdered, according to police. Authorities previously released a short video and audio of a man the girls encountered on the trail.
Allen lives five minutes from the bridge. Online records indicate he’s lived at the Delphi address since about 2006. He previously lived in Peru, Greenwood and Mexico, Indiana. The Delphi house was a cash purchase; it’s assessed at $142,800, online records show.
Google MapDistance from Richard Allen’s house to the bridge.
The girls were discovered near the Monon High Bridge Trail, Fox59 reported, which is part of the Delphi Historic Trails.
2. Richard Allen Is Married With a Daughter, Who Posed on the Same Bridge
FacebookRichard Allen’s daughter on the bridge. Heavy blurred out her face
According to his wife’s Facebook page, which is now deleted, Richard Allen is married. His wife, Kathy Allen, posted a video on Facebook in 2016 that shows Ricky Allen sitting in a car. She wrote:
Had a great weekend with my hubby. Went Christmas shopping at Castleton Square Mall and Von Maur store is one of my favorites especially during the holidays. They have a live pianist and I love the holiday decor and atmosphere. Ricky however about fell asleep waiting for me to finish shopping, then I ‘stalked’ him out in the parking lot waiting in our car. Had a great 25th anniversary dinner at Ruth’s Chris in Carmel. Best steak EVER!
Kathy Allen’s Facebook profile read, “Live & love every day as if it’s your last. Tomorrow is not promised.” She filled her Facebook page with photos of excursions with her husband.
She posted many photos in 2018 of a trip with her husband to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. “Me and bae shootin at pool tournament❤” she wrote with another photo showing her with Allen that year. She wrote, “Hubby and I had a great night shooting pool and spending time together at our local bar….and one of us finally got brave enough to sing Karaoke for the first time ever (and wasnt even drunk😂). And my husband has the moves like Jagger bahahahaha! 💑❤”
Some people believe that the jacket Allen is wearing in this video resembles the jacket wore by the killer they call “BG” in Facebook groups – “Bridge Guy.”
Others have compared Allen’s gait in this fireworks video to the walk of the suspect in the video that police released.
Her posts also indicate that the couple has a daughter. Allen’s wife shared a photo of the daughter on the same bridge shown in the video police released.
3. A Search Warrant Into Another Suspect Revealed the Girls’ Bodies Were ‘Moved & Staged’; Ricky Allen Is a Licensed Pharmacy Tech
Indiana State PolicePolice in Indiana released a sketch of the man they say killed two teen girls, Abigail Williams and Liberty German, in Delphi. The suspect is seen at right in a photo taken from the cell phone of one of the victims.
Allen is a licensed pharmacy tech in Indiana, according to state records. The license was issued in February 2018, a year after the Delphi murders.
He worked at CVS, according to people who live in Delphi and have posted the information online because they’ve seen him at the store. There are screenshots in which a relative of German appears to confirm that he served them when they went to the CVS to get photographs printed for the girls’ funerals, and he gave the photos to the family for free.
“Richard used to work at the Peru CVS. I would guess he was management there for a year or more. I’ve spoken with him multiple times in the Peru store,” a woman wrote on a true crime page devoted to the case on Facebook, referring to Peru, Indiana. She wrote that he “seemed nice and helpful, there was a small bad vibe inside.”
Neighbors expressed shock to friends as news of Allen’s incarceration spread.
“My friend lives in his neighborhood and said he seemed nice and definitely not like a child murderer. She is freaked out!” wrote one woman in a true crime group devoted to the case on Facebook.
Some details of the crime have come out over the years.
WISH-TV obtained a March 17, 2017, search warrant, which was filed just over a month after the girls’ bodies were discovered.
FacebookRichard Allen.
It gave some details of the crime scene, which authorities have been tight-lipped about.
It says the bodies were “moved and staged” and that “a large amount of blood was lost by the victims at the crime scene. Because of the nature of the victim’s wounds, it is nearly certain the perpetrator of the crime would have gotten blood on his person/clothing.”
According to WISH-TV, citing the search warrant, two articles of clothing from one of the girls were missing from the scene, leading authorities to believe they may have been taken as a souvenir.
On a true crime page devoted to the case, people were discussing a 2020 thread on 4Chan in which people called the killer “Richard.” One poster on that thread, which has a lot of disturbing language and comments, explained, “I believe the origin of the Richard meme came from a couple weeks ago in one of these threads when an anon claimed to be from the town. He seemed knowledgeable about the case and accidentally name dropped Richard. When other anons pressed him on Richard, he backtracked hard and claimed it was an autocorrect mistake or something. Now we call the murderer Richard.” It’s not clear whether this is just a coincidence.
4. Authorities Have Released Sketches & Video in the Case
Authorities have released two crime scene sketches of a possible suspect, one in which he looks far younger than the other. They also released Snapchat video from German’s phone of a man walking on a bridge toward the girls before they were killed. German also captured audio of his voice saying, “Down the hill,” according to WRTV. How exactly they died has not been released by authorities.
The full video has never been released to the public. The warrant says it is 43 seconds long.
The girls were followed by the suspect on the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, according to the warrant.
5. There Have Been Other Suspects Over the Years
PoliceAbigail “Abby” Williams, left, and Liberty “Libby” German.
In the intervening years, people have been investigated as suspects, but no charges were filed. There was a search warrant into now-deceased local farmer Ron Logan, for example.
The warrant’s existence was first revealed by the “Murder Sheet” podcast hosts Anya Cain and Kevin Greenlee.
“I’m not necessarily convinced that Ron Logan was involved in this. Some of the circumstantial evidence against him is intriguing and should absolutely be looked at,” Cain told Inside Edition.
Over the years, other names have emerged in connection with the homicides. Logan, who died on January 24, 2022, was never arrested or charged with the murders.
Logan had owned the property where the girls’ bodies were found for 50 years, according to Fox59.
In late 2021, a catfish social media account came under scrutiny of authorities. Kegan Kline is the man who is accused of being behind the catfish social media account anthony_shots, according to a search warrant filed in Indiana.
WISH-TV posted the search warrant in a story that identified Kline as the man authorities say was behind the account. His full name is Kegan Anthony Kline.
That news came after detectives investigating the Delphi murders of Williams and German asked the public for information on the online profile named anthony_shots.
Police said the page was an elaborate catfish that used a fake profile with a model’s picture to contact juvenile females “to solicit nude images.”
Police have not accused Kline of involvement in the Delphi murders.
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