Hey crime junkies, welcome to Human Wreckage, the show that covers all murder cases solved and unsolved across the US. I'm Madison. In today's episode, we will be discussing the mysterious, unfortunate and excruciatingly long murder case of two Delphi Indiana teenage girls. This case was left unsolved for many years, but recently, in the last year of October 2023, they set a trial date to hopefully solve and convict the murderer. In January of 2024, this most recent year, we will review the evidence collected in this case, as well as discuss the devastation that's left on the families involved. Be sure to listen closely for all the details and hear about a sneak peek into my next episode.
Speaker 2:Since 2017, a little over seven years ago, best friends Liberty, also known as Liberty German, who was 14 at the time, and Abigail, also known as Abby Williams, who was 14 at the time, and Abigail, also known as Abby Williams, who was 13 at the time, set off on a walk in their hometown of Delphi, indiana, and were never seen alive again. Since then, several local men have fallen under suspicion for the murders of Libby and Abby, but no arrests were made, no suspects formerly named and all leads ran cold up until now. Last October, a local man named Richard Allen was arrested and charged with the murders of Abby and Libby from 2017. The 50-year-old married Delphi man was taken into custody on October 26, 2022 and booked into Carroll County Jail. He was later moved to a state facility for his own safety. Richard Allen has been charged with two counts of murder. He continues to plead not guilty to the charges and is set to stand trial January 8th 2024.
Speaker 2:Here's what we know about the case. Libby and Abby went missing on February 13th 2017, after they took off on a hike along the Manon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, indiana. Their bodies were discovered the next day in a wooded area roughly half a mile off the trail. For many reasons, the police have refused to say how the girls died and refused to reveal many details in regards to the crime scene itself. Despite this effort, new details about the murders have come to light in search warrant applications. The warrant was filed by an FBI agent investigating the murders back in 2017. It was partially redacted, but the order was to carry out a search on the home of a local man, ronald Logan. In this warrant, the agent revealed that the girls had lost a lot of blood during their attacks and death. It was also believed that their killer moved and staged their bodies before taking some sort of souvenir from the scene. This warrant also revealed the use of a weapon for the first time since the case had come to light. Unfortunately for us, the name of the weapon used was redacted from the document. It is assumed that the murderer would have been covered in the blood of the weapon used was redacted from the document. It is assumed that the murderer would have been covered in the blood of his victims. As the statements that have been made based on the discoveries are based on the nature of the victim's wounds, it is nearly certain the perpetrator of the crime would have gotten blood on his person slash clothing, also stating that a large amount of blood was lost by the victims at the crime scene. Based on the lack of blood where Abby and Libby were found, they believe the girls were killed in another location and later moved to where their bodies were later staged to be found.
Speaker 2:As of June 2023, even more new details have been brought to light on this horrific murder. Abby and Libby are believed to have been killed with a knife. As the filing states, they suffered multiple wounds caused by a sharp object Due to the nature of the unspent bullet that was found by the victim's bodies. It is also believed that a gun was involved in this crime. Some of the girl's clothing was missing, including a pair of underwear and socks, along with Libby's iPhone that had the infamous video of the bridge guy later found under her body at the scene. Here's where we get into the chilling footage of the suspect.
Speaker 2:On the day the girls went missing, libby had posted a photo of her and Abby walking along the trail to her Snapchat, the good old social media app. The image of the two best friends looks happy, which is wonderful, as it's believed to be the last photo of them before they tragically met their deaths. But Libby managed to capture something else. That day, libby was somehow able to capture a grainy video on her phone of a man dressed in blue jeans, a blue jacket and a baseball cap walking along the abandoned railroad bridge. This video is what propelled the investigation forward. Investigators released a grainy image from the video of a man and a chilling audio clip of him telling the two girls go down the hill.
Speaker 2:It has been suspected for a long time by investigators that the man in the video is the girl's killer, and they praise the girls for documenting the evidence, but up until now, the man in the video is the girl's killer, and they praised the girls for documenting the evidence, but up until now the man has never been identified. Police gave out the description of the man as a white male aged between 16 and 40 years old. That's a crazy large age gap Between 5'6 and 5'10 in height getting closer in precision now and weighing about 180 to 200 pounds. Weird how closely they believe the weight to be. Nonetheless, this is what the man was explained to look like. Two police sketches were created and circulated of a man matching the description of the man in the footage, one in 2017 and the other in 2019. Both sketches bear a striking resemblance of Mr Richard Allen.
Speaker 2:Let's reveal a little background on Richard Allen, who he was and why he became a suspect. Before his sudden arrest, mr Allen's name had never been publicly linked to the case. At the time of the murders he would have been 44 years old. He had no prior criminal record, although jail record has him listed as also going by the alias Craig Ross Rentfro. Mr Allen is a local resident of Delphi, where his family home was located, less than a five-minute drive from where the bodies of Libby and Abby were found, which is located in a neighborhood southwest of the Menon High Bridge. Online records prove that Mr Allen had lived in Delphi at this location since at least 2006. The rest of his adult life he lived in Indiana.
Speaker 2:Mr Allen lived what seemed to be a pretty normal life. He was married to his wife, kathy, sharing an adult daughter together a pretty normal life. He was married to his wife, kathy, sharing an adult daughter together, and was a trained pharmacy technician, receiving most recent pharmaceutical license in February 2018, only one year after the murders. At the time of Mr Allen's arrest, he was working at the local CVS store, which meant he came in contact with a lot of the local members of the community. Some of these members included Libby's grandparents, mike and Becky Patty. They recalled Mr Allen processed photos for them at the store before CVS had offered its condolences to the victims' families and stated they would cooperate with the investigation in any way that they can. At the time of his arrest, they let out a few statements saying as members of the Carroll County community, we remain devastated by these murders and our hearts go out to the German and Williams families, and Local residents were all shocked and reacted in disbelief when the news broke. We stand ready to cooperate with the police investigation in any way we can. Local residents were all shocked and reacted in disbelief when the news broke of his arrest, all claiming that he seemed like a normal guy.
Speaker 2:Later, it is discovered and brought to light that the accused killer posed for a smiling selfie in front of one of the police sketches of the murder suspect. In a chilling photo of Mr Allen's lovely wife, kathy, posted to Facebook in December of 2021, mr Allen is seen smiling ear to ear along with his wife in a local bar in Delphi. On the wall behind him is the 2019 police sketch, of which Mr Allen hasa shocking resemblance to. What a ballsy move. Strangely enough, the selfie was posted to social media the same month that investigators issued a fresh appeal urging members of the public to come forward with information about an online catfishing account thought to be tied to the murders. Was this a cry for help?
Speaker 2:Furthering the discussion on what led Mr Allen to become a suspect and the evidence stacked against him? There was an affidavit released on November 29th revealing prosecution had tied Mr Allen to the bullet found at the scene of the murder. Remember that one single unspent bullet found? Yeah, that of the murder. Remember that one single unspent bullet found yeah, that's the one. Documents state that ballistics confirmed. The unspent .40 caliber round found close to the bodies of the teenage victims had come from a Sig Sawyer model P226 belonging to none other than Mr Allen himself. He had owned this gun since 2001. It was found during a search of Mr Allen's home. Both him and his wife, kathy, confirmed he was the only person with access to the
Speaker 2:firearm. Mr Allen also spoke with investigators at least twice, including in 2017, where he confirmed knowing he was on police radar at the time of the murders. In the same 2017 interview, mr Allen had confessed to being on the Manon High Bridge trail on the afternoon of February 13th, thus placing him on the scene at the same day and time that the victims went for their last walk. Although confessing to being at the same location at the same time as the teenage victims, he denied any involvement in the murders and insisted he had never seen the two girls that day. In another interview Mr Allen did on October 13, 2022, he stated that he had no explanation as to how the unspent bullet ended up in between the bodies of the two teenage victims, further stating that he had not been on the property where the unspent round was found, that he did not know the property owner and that he had no explanation as to why a round cycled through his firearm would be at that location. The property owner, ron Logan, was also a suspect in question. He was thoroughly investigated with his ties to the case, but passed away in
Speaker 2:2020. Investigators believe that Mr Allen is the bridge guy Libby captured on her phone. So what was the end result? Let's find out what Mr Allen has admitted to and been charged with. On June 28th, a large collection of 118 court documents were unsealed In this collection. Collection of 118 court documents were unsealed. In this collection, it is revealed that Richard Allen, local CVS worker, confessed to the murders of Libby and Abby to his wife, kathy, while behind bars at the Westville Correctional
Speaker 2:Facility. In a phone call made on April 3rd, mr Allen allegedly admitted several times that he had carried out the brutal murders After David's days. Investigators had the phone call transcribed and the transcription confirmed that Richard M Allen admits that he committed the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German. Upon hearing this, kathy Mr Allen's wife abruptly ended the phone call following her husband's confession. My guess is she forgot that the entire conversation is recorded. There is no privacy. Mr Allen, a suspect back in 2017 who managed to slip through the cracks for more than five years due to a clerical error, also confessed the murder to his mother while in jail. In total, mr Allen confessed at least five times to the murders of Abby and Libby. According to documents, following his confession on April 3rd to his wife, mr Allen had broke the tablet used to call and text people and has not communicated with people
Speaker 2:since. In June 2023, there was a rather dramatic court hearing held, where both the prosecution and defense team revealed that Mr Allen had made incriminating admissions about the murders in the seven months since his arrest, but also stated that the nature of those confessions was not previously known. Due to this, mr Allen's defense attorney jumped to try and fix this issue by arguing his confessions can't be trusted due to his current mental state. In another attempt to find others to blame, mr Allen's attorney laid claim that Libby and Abby were killed as a part of ritualistic sacrifice at the hands of a white nationalist cult. Court documents verify that. In September, mr Allen's attorney claimed that the brutal 2017 murders of Libby and Abby were actually carried out by members of a pagan Norse religion and white nationalist group called Odinists. According to his attorneys, the nature of the crime scene had always pointed to the work of a cult, claiming that Libby and Abby's bodies had both been staged with tree branches and sticks across their body in the shape of pagan symbols. Stating this resembled possible Odinism signatures left behind at the crime scene. Although his defense attorney made this claim, they made sure to cover any cracks by also claiming that Mr Allen has no connection to any pagan cult, while also naming at least four Odinites as potential suspects. Law enforcement doesn't seem to take interest in these claims and have not named any of these Odinites as suspects or person of interest in the case. Looks like all eyes are still on Richard
Speaker 2:Now. Over the years, there have been other names tied to the case. Mr Allen's name wasn't the only one to have come in connection with this case before now. In December of 2021, a 27-year-old Indiana man fell under suspicion when the online account he used to groom underage girls was found tied to the teenage victims victims. His Peru home was searched upon suspicion of child porn when the username was tracked to the property by the FBI on February 25, 2017, less than two weeks after Abby and Libby's murders, indiana State Police announced that officials had uncovered a fake online profile called Anthony underscore shots. The profile was discovered to have been used from 2016 to 2017 on several social media platforms, including Snapchat and Instagram. The photos used on the profile were of a known male model who was absolutely no connection to this case, portraying his character as extremely wealthy and owning numerous sports
Speaker 2:cars. Investigators discovered and disclosed that the person behind the account was Keegan Anthony Klein, a 27-year-old man with two separate addresses close to Delphi. In his affidavit, klein admitted to posing as the model in order to groom underage girls and get them to send nude photos. He would also try to get their addresses and would push the girls to meet him. Klein was arrested on charges of child sexual abuse images and child exploitation tied to the account in 2020. Allegedly, klein admitted to investigators that he used the social media accounts to talk to and groom underage girls online. He admitted to exchanging messages with, and receiving about 100 sexual photos and about 20 sexually explicit videos from around 15 underage girls. However, he denied any knowledge or involvement in Abby and Libby's case. Nevertheless, klein was appropriately charged with 30 felonies for his actions. After five charges were dropped, klein pled guilty to 25 counts and was sentenced to four decades in prison. Klein was not accused of involvement in Abby and Libby's
Speaker 2:deaths. According to the 2017 search warrant application, logan had previously been on police radar. Logan owned the land where Abby and Libby's bodies were found. Unfortunately for him, his home was only 1,400 feet from the crime scene. Allegedly, he also lied about where he was at the time that the girls disappeared, telling investigators that he was picked up by a friend around 2 pm on February 13th and driven to an aquarium store. Returning hours later around 5 pm, his friend corroborated the story, confirming the alibi, then admitted two days later that Logan made up the story and had asked him to lie. Cell phone location data placed Mr Logan in the area around the trail at the time that Abby and Libby had disappeared. Although the document does state that Mr Logan's voice is not consistent with the man captured in Libby's video, he died in 2020 before the case was solved. It is unclear if Mr Allen has any connections to Logan or Klein. The warrant also cites multiple complaints that Logan was violent towards women and that he owned multiple weapons, including several handguns and knives of various
Speaker 2:sorts. Libby's grandmother, becky Patty, who raised Libby from the age of three with her husband, mike Patty, stated "'Up until last night, we were under the impression that there was no indication, and even now, as far as I'm aware, there is no indication that the girls had any plans to meet anyone out there on the trail'". She also said that she had never heard of Klein before. Investigators released the information about the social media profile to the public. Becky stated that, after so many leads had gone cold, she was not going to get her hopes up that this was the breakthrough the families had been waiting for. To wrap up this case, prosecutors believe that the suspect may not have acted alone. Not have acted alone. During a bail hearing on November 22nd, prosecutors had asked a judge to keep aftedavids in the case sealed, as they believed Mr Allen may not have acted alone. They also argued that unsealing the aftedavids would open witnesses to harassment. Ms Patty is in agreement with keeping the sensitive information relating to the case out of the eye of the
Speaker 2:public. Let's recap this long and seemingly never-ending hunt for the killer on the High Bridge. Back in February of 2017, abby and Libby two teenage girls at the ages of 13 and 14, went missing while on a hike and their bodies appeared the next day in a completely staged location. Several suspects have been brought in for investigations with no leads over the years. As of December 2023, the case is still considered to be unsolved. It has now been seven years almost eight for the families of these victims and there still seems to be no definite answer on who killed these innocent
Speaker 2:girls. I truly hope the upcoming court case in 2024 will shed some light on the events that occurred in the untimely deaths of these two teenage girls. I hope their killer finally admits to his faults truthfully and fully, to allow these girls to rest at peace and their families to be free of this looming feeling. Thanks for joining me on this episode. I hope you enjoyed listening in on on this episode. I hope you enjoyed listening in on my stories and I hope you'll return for my next episode, where we will dive into more solved and unsolved murders across the US. Like Kendrick Johnson.